Life Once Was an Incomplete Pass for Andre DeSaussure But He Cradles It Now

For the longest time, Andre DeSaussure was like an incomplete pass. He looked impressive coming off someone's fingertips in a tight spiral, but nobody could haul him in.

A quarter of century ago, he blew through the University of Washington football program as this talented yet fun-loving wide receiver who did well as a freshman and a senior, but went unused in between.

He was this guy who caught touchdown passes against Notre Dame and Army, who started nine games, but he disappeared for long stretches.

DeSaussure had these glorious football gifts, such as 4.3-second speed over 40 yards, but they might have been wasted at times because this 6-foot-2, 200-pound player always wanted to run to the next party as much as the end zone.

He was refreshingly candid with reporters, saying whatever was on his mind, but Husky coach Jim Lambright moved quickly to suspend him for the 1998 Apple Cup after he made the following unfiltered observation about WSU, "It's a place you can go and have a good time, as far as a bunch of drunk people."

It mattered little that just a few seasons earlier UW quarterback Damon Huard had gone unpunished if not ignored by Lambright after saying just about the same thing about Oregon, "We don't have 35,000 drunks; we have 75,000 crazy fans."

No, DeSaussure couldn't escape being who he was. After all, once he had served that Apple Cup punishment of his, he proceeded to miss the team flight for the next game, to Hawaii for the Oahu Bowl.

That was Andre, making his teammates laugh and sometimes his coaches mad.

While all of that college kid stuff easily would be forgiven and forgotten, one thing wouldn't let this Los Angeles native off the hook — his health.

After pro football trials with the CFL and NFL Europe, DeSaussure watched his body give out on him in shocking fashion. He went through genetic kidney failure, requiring dialysis for a full decade before he could receive a necessary transplant. He was diagnosed with cancer in his kidneys. He experienced heart issues. He went into a medical coma. That's called piling on.

He wasn't joking and laughing anymore. He went the other direction and it wasn't a happy one. He ran a deep route and almost didn't come back.

"I actually gave up," DeSaussure said. "I was smoking cigarettes. I got cocaine. I didn't think I had any hope left. I didn't think there was any other way."

Ah, but there was.

For the past eight years, he has been functioning with a new kidney, donated to him from a then 22-year-old Miami man. The gift of this organ has made all the difference in the world to his life. One by one, he beat those other maladies after getting the biggest one fixed.

Longer than that, DeSaussure, the UW drama student, has been an actor. Small films such as Nadia and The Absent, and a number of plays, fill out his resume. He once did an Outback Steakhouse commercial with tubes sticking in him while he dealt with his kidney.

Today, he works for a Los Angeles art gallery owned by a friend, one that deals with all sort of celebrities from the entertainment world. He has his Screen Actors Guild card handy at all times, ready for his next role.

DeSaussure, so personable and positive now, wants to pull others out of, pardon the receiver reference, their unwanted spirals.

He has a book of his life experiences nearly complete, plus a documentary film about himself in the works. He'd like to speak to whomever will listen to a presentation by him, beginning with maybe every UW athlete.

He's had his pratfalls, but he still has dreams intact. He's still trying to get open, waving his arms, ready to make another big touchdown catch. One that changes life rather than the scoreboard. He never runs a short route either.

"I want to show them I'm a living example who made it through these hurdles and these obstacles," DeSaussure said. "I can show them that they can make it. I just want to be the biggest motivational speaker in the world."

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