Saints RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire reflects on passion for healthcare as he finishes nursing degree

METAIRIE, La. – Saints running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is a high school state champion, a national champion, and a two-time Super Bowl champion. He has faced numerous challenges on the football field.

But the real hardship started early in life, when his sister Maddee was born with muscular dystrophy.

“We didn’t know if she was going to walk or not. They gave her six months to live,” Clyde’s mother Tongelia said.

If Maddee wanted to live longer, it would require a lot of help. Clyde sprang to action, tending to her every need. He was a natural.

“He helped prepare her feedings with her feeding pump. He always asked all the right questions and remembered it all,” Tongelia said. “All the settings on her machine, he knew how much to put in her syringe, how to give it to her and how to flush it after.”

Maddee is 17 now and has overcome the odds. Her big brother is a big reason why. Her journey inspired Clyde. He used her experience as an example during a motivational speech before Catholic’s 2015 state title game, one that the Bears ended up winning.

“He said if she can go through all the things she went through, that the little things they’d encounter would be nothing,” Tongelia said.

Maddee’s recovery, combined with his mom’s nursing career, is why Edwards-Helaire enrolled in nursing school at LSU while playing for the Chiefs.

“Seeing how my mom cared for her initiated my spark for wanting to be in healthcare,” Edwards-Helaire said. “Not only that, but help kids. That’s what I want to get out of it.”

Once he completes nursing school, he’ll be fully prepared for life after football.

“I like helping people and being that helping hand, and having the knowledge of being helpful is great,” Edwards-Helaire said. “You have to satisfy yourself before you satisfy everybody else’s needs. I feel like doing this is filling the void in my life.”

Edwards-Helaire said he likely only has one semester left.