Husky Linemen Paying it Forward

Story by Mike Martin –

It began as a routine checkup at the clinic in Friday Harbor, Washington. Hollye Vague took her 16-year old son, Quincy in for a check-up.

“Quincy was having headaches,” she said. Quincy was an offensive tackle for the Friday Harbor High School Wolverines — the season had just finished — and there are always aches and pains associated with any sort of athletics.

“He started as a freshman and was dominant,” his coach, Garrett Holmes, said. “We had high expectations for him going into his sophomore season,” but Holmes said that there was a notable dip in his performance.

Holmes understands the grind of an offensive lineman as he was a second team All Pac -10 center at the University of Oregon in 1986 and figured the performance drop was a “sophomore slump”.

Holmes was also a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American in 1986 — during off-season workouts he could tell something just wasn’t right. Quincy began missing workout sessions; sometimes with lower back pain and sometimes with headaches — sometimes with both.

Hollye says that Quincy began to experience consistent headaches in January, but then they intensified late February. It’s not uncommon for different sinus headaches or headaches, in general, during the winter and especially during flu season.

When it turned out to be brain cancer it shocked the tiny, tight-knit island community.

The news spread quickly via the island’s social media. On the 25th of February Quincy was helicoptered to Seattle Children’s Hospital. Surgery was performed immediately — but what doctors found was an inoperable brain tumor. They scheduled further tests and more surgery.

On March 4th doctors found a tumor called an anaplastic astrocytoma — grade three — and it is malignant.

The cancer is not only in the tumor, but it also spread to the fluid around his brain and down his spine. The blood clot and sinus infection are still there.

As the story was shared on Facebook, it caught the eye of University of Washington Husky offensive tackle, Kaleb Mcgary. What he saw was a smiling, mud-spattered high-school football player wearing a familiar purple and gold jersey on a GoFundMe page. McGary knew the mud — he knew the smile — and he also knew the pain. He read the heart-wrenching story — not unlike his own — as he is no stranger to the experience of staring at the ceiling of a hospital.

Standing a burly 6’-8” and 308 lbs., Mcgary is a massive lineman with a soft heart and a hard nose. While playing basketball as a junior at Fife High School, McGary fainted and fell nose-first into the team’s bench. McGary said that the fainting spell was caused by an episode of Ventricular Fibrillation.

“My heart was beating so fast that it essentially ceased pumping blood and was just quivering.” he remembers. His coach, Mark Schelbert could tell that something just wasn’t right and called a timeout. Coach Schelbert asked McGary if he was okay. “I said ‘yeah’, took one step and bam!” he said.

He wasn’t okay.

Four years and three heart procedures, McGary has traveled to Atlanta for an appearance in the College Football Playoffs — and is fine. But when he’s not bashing holes open for running backs Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman, or keeping quarterback Jake Browning’s jersey clean he is looking for ways to “pay it forward”.

Although the front of Quincy’s jersey reads “Wolverines” and McGary’s reads “Huskies”, McGary has a lot of sympathy and understanding of Quincy’s situation. “I just wanted to make his day a little better,” he said.

With the gold “71” stitched onto Quincy’s purple jersey, McGary figured it was a fellow lineman — who wore purple and gold, himself. He simply wanted to know what he could do to help, and it didn’t take long for him to spring into action.

Normally visits to hospitals are coordinated as a team function through the football department at the University of Washington. McGary admits that it felt odd, at first, coordinating the visit with his teammates — but he understood what Quincy was going through, personally, and what Quincy’s mother was feeling.

Seattle’s Children’s Hospital is moments away from the University of Washington campus, but 100 miles away by car plus an hour-plus ferry ride from Friday Harbor. McGary knew that Quincy would not have near the number of visitors he had when he was at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma.

Through social media McGary was able to connect with a family friend and coordinated the visit.

McGary spoke with fellow offensive lineman, Jesse Sosebee, and set it all up. With Quincy in the ICU, they had to keep the group size to a minimum. A family friend, and Washington Huskies’ fan, delivered to Mcgary a jersey, a hat, and a football. McGary took the items to his teammates and had them all sign them. McGary says that he waited outside Washington head coach, Chris Petersen’s office for a while to get his signature.

McGary also delivered Chico McClatcher’s Pac-12 Championship Game-worn gloves; the same gloves McClatcher was wearing when he scored an 8-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Huskies their final margin of 41-10 over Colorado in the Pac-12 championship game.

Washington’s starting right tackle also learned that Hollye Vague is a single mom of four (one daughter in college, two boys in high school, and one in middle school).

“She works two jobs,” McGary said. “I just wanted to help any way I could.”

It was an all-too-familiar financial struggle for Mcgary as well during his heart procedures. He knows the potential result from medical expenses and is hoping that he can help raise some awareness to Quincy’s medical expense GoFundMe page. To date, through funds mostly donated by friends on San Juan Island, $8,000 has been raised, with a goal of $50,000.

Since Quincy was helicoptered to the Children’s Hospital on the 25th of February, Hollye has not set foot outside Children’s Hospital except to stretch her legs, making it a financial double-whammy: no income and unexpected expenses. The island community is helping raise funds with BBQs, and other charity events — while Quincy’s younger brothers, 15-year old Ty and 14-year old Reese stay with a family friend.

The short-term goal of the visit of lifting Quincy’s spirit was clearly achieved. “It was amazing. The jersey, the gloves, the ball autographed by Coach Petersen and the team,” Quincy said. Then he turned as he pointed at his younger brothers, flashed a grin and said, “that ball’s never getting thrown!”

That smile told Hollye all she needed to know: Kaleb McGary and Jesse Sosebee didn’t just make Quincy’s day a little bit better, they gave him hope of brighter days ahead.

Paying it forward is echoed by Sosebee. He says that making a difference in somebody’s life is something that he strives for — and something that Coach Petersen encourages in his “Built for Life” program.

Sosebee said that Coach Petersen, “on ’Real Life Wednesdays’ always encouraged us to make a difference in our communities and the connections we make now will last for a lifetime.”

As always, it isn’t just about football – but football is one vehicle that brings lives together – and those lives touch other’s lives – and the chains keep moving forward.

You can help with Quincy’s medical expenses by contributing at:

https://www.gofundme.com/quincys-medical-expenses

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