There's a distinct difference between the left and right shoe that wide receivers coach Bobby Engram will wear this Sunday at Northwest Stadium. This wasn't merely an artsy design choice; rather, it's a message.
"The left has red blood cells that are sickle-shaped, and the right has the whole circle blood cells," Engram explained. "We want to get the left ones right."
Getting the left ones right refers to finding a cure for sickle cell disease, a condition that affects the Engrams along with approximately 100,000 other Americans. For the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats program, the Commanders coach chose to highlight the Bobbi Engram Foundation, an initiative named after his late daughter who died from sickle cell disease.
The Engram's first child, Bobbi was a social butterfly with a daring palette and an infectious zest for life. She loved a good book, sushi dates with her dad and spending time with her family and dog Benji. Her world had a lot of joy, but it also had a lot of challenges.
"You would never know the extreme pain that she was in ever," Engram said. "Just very, very tough, mentally and physically…she handled everything with such grace."
An inherited blood disorder, sickle cell disease causes red blood cells to become rigid and misshapen (like a C or sickle). These sickled cells are prone to becoming stuck in blood vessels, blocking blood flow and leading to pain. Pain crises, as they are called, can last any length of time and some may be so severe that they lead to hospital stays. It was actually during a hospital stay when Bobbi was eight or nine years old that the idea for an Engram foundation was born.
"She was having a pain crisis, and she asked me and my wife a very poignant question. She goes, 'What do other kids do that don't have parents that could take care of them?' and so we created the foundation based on her wanting to help other kids," Engram said.
The foundation's name then was actually Bobby with the "y". Engram was playing for the Seahawks when he and his wife Deanna started up a fundraising walk and supported a still-ongoing camp on Seattle's Vashon Island for families affected by sickle cell.
Over the years, their IT wiz niece Taylor built a website for the foundation and efforts have grown to include partnerships with local hospitals and the American Red Cross -- anything that might help even one person learn about the disease or lighten the load for one person affected.
"Our model is teach, care, cure. For 15+ we've been educating people, and in our own way taking care of individuals and families that suffer from the disease," Engram said. "Ultimately, we believe a cure is on the horizon…we need to keep working for medical advances to find a more viable cure that's not going to have as many adverse side effects and not be as difficult for some people to access."
From that question she asked as a young kid to her last days and still now, Bobbi Engram has been the driving force and inspiration for the foundation. On August 25, 2018, Bobbi, then a sophomore at Towson University, passed away from complications from sickle cell.
"What happened with Bobbi was just over the course of her life, it was just too much stress on her body – her internal organs and specifically her heart – over the 20 years of life. That's really what got her," Engram said.
Shortly after her death, the Engrams replaced "Bobby" with "Bobbi" in the foundation's name to honor their daughter's memory. Their work continues, its necessity underscored by this tragic loss. What's more, the Engram's youngest child Phoebe, who is 14, lives with the disease.
Even during a busy football season, Engram does what he can to share about sickle cell, recently filming a PSA with head coach Dan Quinn in collaboration with the NBA. The ripple effects that come with speaking out and educating have been powerful. Just ask Quinn who decided to surprise Engram with a pair of his own shoes spotlighting the Bobbi Engram Foundation.
"To find out so much more about it and how it can affect somebody so much, it was really important," Quinn said. "So I just wanted to show my love for him by giving that opportunity back and saying, 'Hey I'm right there with you.'"
And so the awareness spreads. With every new set of eyes gained, partnership initiated and dollar donated, the Engrams are reminded of their bright guiding light in Bobbi.
"Every time we do something, we really feel like we're carrying out what she started," Engram said.
You can bid on Bobby Engram and/or Dan Quinn's cleats here!
