Sproles to join the fight to cure disease (phoby by Mike Nowak).

Huntington’s disease is considered a rare disorder, but it’s anything but that for the San Diego Chargers’ organization. As is well known, Chargers’ public relations director Bill Johnston’s wife Ramona has HD. And kickoff return specialist Darren Sproles recently revealed that four members of his extended family suffer from the condition.

 

“I was shocked to learn that somebody else’s family has been affected by it too,” said Sproles, who completed his rookie season with the Chargers in 2005.

 

Sproles’ grandmother Kerry LeFlore, his aunts Betsy LeFlore and Ola May Wilder, and his uncle Sam LeFlore all have HD.

 

Sproles’ mother Annette, who died of brain cancer in 2004, tested negative for Huntington’s. That result freed Sproles and his younger brother Terrence from worry about whether they had inherited HD, which is a genetic disorder. It was a “relief” for the family, Sproles said.

Disease takes toll on family
 

Yet he realizes that HD has taken its toll on his relatives. They all suffer from chorea, the shaking and irregular movements characteristic of Huntington’s. His grandmother’s speech is slurred and his uncle can no longer drive a car.

 

“It messes with your memory sometimes. You always move. You’re always fidgety,” Sproles said in describing the disease.

 

Nevertheless, Sproles said his relatives have maintained a “positive attitude” about the disease. “They still laugh and crack jokes,” he said.

Denial by some
 

The family also engages in some typical denial as a way of protecting itself from the fears of HD, Sproles indicated. He doesn’t know, for example, if any of his at-risk cousins have been tested.

 

“We don’t want to talk about it. We just go on with our lives,” he explained.

 

For a 22-year-old, Sproles has experienced astounding success.

 

At only five-feet, six-inches and 181 pounds, he set 23 records at Kansas State University and is often referred to as the best player in the team’s 109-year history. His accomplishments include a school-record 4,979 rushing yards, 11th-most in NCAA history, and 6,812 all-purpose yards, sixth-most in college history. He won the kickoff return job on the Chargers and blazed to a number of 40-plus-yard returns. Over the season he averaged a solid 24.4 yards per return. His goal is nothing less than playing in the Pro Bowl and helping the Chargers win a Super Bowl.

Overcoming adversity
 

But Sproles has also experienced much adversity. He has worked hard to overcome a childhood tendency to stutter and in addition to his mother, his paternal grandmother succumbed to cancer. And he faced the possibility of being at risk for HD.

 

But adversity has led the family to “grow stronger. It made us all come together more,” he said.

 

It also helped Sproles to recognize the need to find a cure for HD and for cancer. He plans to dedicate time and money to fund-raising events for cancer research, for example.

 

“They need to find a cure, to stop all this,” he said. “They need to hurry up.”