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UPPER DARBY — One thing that bothered Upper Darby senior Namir Jeffries was not knowing who he could talk to for advice.
Jeffries was a sophomore when he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Symptoms include fatigue, stomach pain, malnutrition and weight loss. He will have to manage the symptoms for the rest of his life as there is currently no cure.
“When I was a sophomore, I knew something was wrong. That’s when I had all the tests done and was diagnosed,” Jeffries said. “It’s chronic. Every four to six months I take Remicad (via an IV infusion). It depends how my levels are. It’s just something I have to deal with.”
Jeffries didn’t have to look far to find someone sympathetic to his condition. Upper Darby offensive coordinator Ryan Dabney has lived with Crohn’s for most of his adult life.
“He has helped me a lot and he tells me what medications I should consider taking. He knows a lot about it,” Jeffries said. “I feel like we are connected a little bit more because of it. Before my diagnosis I never knew anybody with it until I talked to Coach Dabney one day. He said that he has it and I was like, ‘Oh, snap, you too?’ It’s like we are paired together.”
Dabney, a standout running back at Haverford High in the early 2000s, has undergone several surgeries. He was in so much pain he spent time in the ICU. He has attended support groups for Crohn’s and knows the importance of having someone to talk to when there’s nobody else in your life who can possibly understand the day-to-day struggles.
“I try to tell him good things to eat, things that have helped me. I tell him that every day is a battle, every day is different,” Dabney said. “You’re going to be tired, but you’ve just got to push through it. The pain is something you have to deal with. Luckily for me I take medical marijuana because I’m an adult. That has let me sleep and walk around pain free. Once you get the medicine, that really helps, but the medicines only work for so long. It relaxes your intestines and you feel that right away.
“It’s embarrassing to talk about,” Dabney added. “I couldn’t imagine having this in high school. I didn’t get diagnosed until about three years after high school, so I can’t imagine what it is like to be his age and going through it.”
Jeffries is a two-way lineman and track and field athlete. When he was a sophomore, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the symptoms became so unbearable that he could not compete in outdoor track.
“I’ve had really bad complications with it. In the spring track season my sophomore year, I couldn’t run. It was too painful,” he said. “It was bothering me during football season my sophomore year, but I didn’t know what it was. I was going to school, but it was virtual. It wasn’t until I started going into school again that it got real bad. I didn’t do winter track that year and spring track I couldn’t physically do it because of my complications. I went to one track meet and that was it for the spring season.”
Jeffries has maintained excellent grades throughout high school. He loves chemistry. For a long time he wanted to be a veterinarian, but these days he has his eyes on athletic training.
“I’m just a big science guy,” he said.
Jeffries knows that his athletic career could have gone in a different direction if not for his disease, but he’s never been one to complain.
“It feels like I have missed a lot, like I’ve been catching up,” he said. “There was the (COVID) year when I was a sophomore. I was able to play football last year. By that time I knew what I was dealing with. I started (junior year) in football and had a good year. I had a good track season last year (in the) 4×400 relay. I believe we were 0.3 seconds away from going to states. And football this year has been great.”
Jeffries hasn’t made it through his senior season unscathed. In September he called Upper Darby head coach Dave Barr to tell him he couldn’t attend practice because he had to undergo emergency surgery. Jeffries missed the Royals’ fourth and fifth games. Incredibly, he was back on the field in time for their sixth.
“It is what it is,” Jeffries said with a smile. “You just have to learn to fight through it. That’s what I have learned to do.”
Jeffries is without question a key part to the team, someone who can fill a void on a depleted offensive line unit while also playing full time at defensive end. Barr appreciates Jeffries’ talent and determination, and most of all, admires the well-rounded person he has become. He is a beacon of positivity and strength and a role model for everyone on the team, regardless of class.
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Upper Darby senior Namir Jeffries takes a minute from football practice Monday to speak about overcoming Crohn’s Disease. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group
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