Mondeaux Tackles All Challenges
09/08/17 | Football
Diagnosed with diabetes as a child, UO senior Henry Mondeaux takes on that challenge with the same determination he does rushing the quarterback.
Now in his fourth season with the Oregon football team, Henry Mondeaux has learned the value of routines. The senior defensive end from Portland has several routines he shares with teammates — workouts in the weight room, meetings with coaches, practice five days a week.
There's another routine that, unlike his teammates, Mondeaux endures multiple times a day. It's a routine few of his teammates can relate to – checking his blood sugar due to diabetes.
On Saturday, Mondeaux and fellow team captain Royce Freeman lead the Ducks (1-0) into their nonconference showdown with Nebraska in Autzen Stadium (1:30 p.m. PT, FOX). Along with making sure he knows Oregon's schemes and is appropriately adorned in the special uniform benefitting OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Mondeaux will also be monitoring his blood sugar Saturday, as he does each gameday with the assistance of UO athletic training staff.
Mondeaux started playing football when he was in fifth grade. As a freshman in high school, he started getting sick. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, as he progressively got worse. All he knew was that he got so sick, his parents had to rush him to the emergency room.
"It was pretty scary," Mondeaux said. "I didn't really know anything about it; I was just rushed off to the hospital. I didn't know what was going on."
Unbeknownst to Mondeaux and his family in that moment, his life was about to be altered forever. Lying in the hospital bed, weak and very scared, Mondeaux was diagnosed with diabetes.
Life as he knew it changed overnight — he had a disease he knew nothing about. At only 15 years old, Mondeaux had to learn how to check and maintain his blood sugar several times a day, ensuring it never went too high or too low.
Years later, Mondeaux now knows how to live with and maintain his diabetes, and he's excelling as a leader and a force on the defensive line for the Ducks. He hopes his story inspires other diabetics.
"I try to play for all the kids that have it too, or have any health issues, to show them that they can do whatever they want," Mondeaux said.
Diagnosed at the young age of 15, Mondeaux didn't let anything get in the way of his desire to play football at the highest levels. As a kid growing up in Portland, his dream had been to play for the Ducks. When they offered a scholarship to play defense, the two-way star from Jesuit High knew he couldn't turn it down.
At Oregon, the athletic department medical staff works with Mondeaux to keep track of his blood sugar. They make sure his levels are stable during practice, and at halftime during each game. Mondeaux wants to be there for the team, and doesn't let his diabetes slow him down.
This year Mondeaux is in his final season with the Ducks. He was elected a team captain in a vote of players, and had three tackles with a sack against Southern Utah last week.
"I lead by example," Mondeaux said. "I'm not a big yeller, telling guys what to do in the moment. But I'll pull guys aside and try to be more constructive with it."
Mondeaux can use his maturity and experience to guide others. He appreciates the chance to help younger players develop. Ultimately, that benefits Mondeaux as well – better teammates means a better team, his ultimate goal in any endeavor.
Among the other ways Mondeaux improves the team through self-improvement is by being a workout warrior in the weight room. Under the direction of new UO coach Willie Taggart and his staff, Mondeaux has torn down personal records, and possibly even a school record in the weight room.
Prior to the start of preseason training camp, Mondeaux squatted 635 pounds — thought to be among the heaviest ever by an Oregon defensive lineman. The 635-pound lift was also 65 pounds over Mondeaux's personal record, which had been his goal going into the squat.
"I wanted to beat my personal record," he said. "We weren't sure (about the team records) because the weights weren't posted, but I thought I remembered what it was, so I tried to do more than it."
Oregon's weight-room records are unofficial. But Mondeaux was told the lift challenged the UO defensive line record set by none other than Haloti Ngata.
A few years ago, when he was first diagnosed with diabetes, Mondeaux might have doubted his ability to set weight-room records, star on Oregon's defensive line, or become a team captain with the Ducks. Instead, he never wavered from his goals, a lesson he hopes other kids diagnosed with diabetes will take to heart, and follow as he did.
