Cowboys' Travis Frederick sees hope, progress after 'scary' Guillain-Barre Syndrome diagnosis

Travis Frederick just wanted to put Oliver and Kensington to bed.

He’d always carried his young son and daughter up the stairs.

Then the Dallas Cowboys center returned home from the hospital in August, fresh off his diagnosis and spinal tap treatment for Guillain-Barre Syndrome, the autoimmune disorder that had ambushed his football career and sapped his strength. 

“Not being able to carry my kids upstairs to bed – certain things change the way you look at life,” Frederick told USA TODAY Sports in a phone interview Thursday. “Not knowing how bad it’d be.

“It was pretty scary there.”

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It was scary for a while.

Frederick lost feeling in his hands and feet. His hips lost the strength to stabilize his walk, so he limped, which put extra pressure on his back. He lost about 18 pounds. And he lost the sense of camaraderie with the offensive line group for which he became an anchor in four Pro Bowl seasons since Dallas drafted him in 2013.

Suddenly, Frederick identified with what Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo referred to after his 2016 career-ending collarbone fracture as “a dark place, probably the darkest it’s ever been.”

And not just dark.

“I would say it is a dark and lonely feeling,” Frederick said. “There’s nothing like the brotherhood of being able to play, work and sacrifice with the guys.

“And all of a sudden, you’re taken from that. And someone else is doing it in your place.”

Two and a half months later, it’s an adjustment that Frederick has embraced.

Dallas’ October 29 bye week was a turning point.

It was then that Frederick, whom the Cowboys placed on injured reserve Oct. 6, was able to finally lift heavier weights. For two months he worked simply to maintain strength and combat muscle atrophy. 

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And when the Cowboys fired offensive line coach Paul Alexander, Frederick’s role as player-coach became way more than just a way to keep a sidelined captain occupied.

In the return from the bye week, before the Cowboys’ Monday Night game vs. the Titans on Nov. 5, Frederick finally experienced progress.

He and right guard Zack Martin for years have played catch in pregame warmups.

In September, Frederick couldn’t throw far. He couldn’t catch Martin’s passes. He moved gingerly to retrieve balls.

Before the Titans game, Frederick moved with renewed vigor. He threw a spiral 25 yards.

“Now I can zing the ball better,” Frederick said, “put spin on it, finally, which is good.”

His hands and feet no longer tingle. The numbness is now contained to his fingers and toes, a reduction that’s one of the few measurable ways Frederick has been able to track progress with a rare condition (about one in 100,000 is affected by it, according to the National Institutes of Health).

“But (the recovery) has to take me back to being at professional level,” Frederick said. “There’s not a lot of data on that.”

So Frederick has redefined his goals, opting not to pursue even a general target for his return. He’s confident he can do one day make a comeback. But he’s also adamant that getting back to action too early risks not only own injury for himself, but could potentially endanger quarterback Dak Prescott or running back Ezekiel Elliott as well.

So instead he’s traded his uniform – for now – for a headset, communicating between box and sideline coaches, charting defensive plays and integrating instantaneous adjustments.

“I take pride knowing I’m helping the team win still,” he said.

And how’s a football IQ coaches describe as the highest in the building learning from a new vantage point?

“It’s certainly been very helpful,” Frederick said. “It’s not something I’d ever suggest anybody does. But I’ve been able to see the game in a different light, see it from a different angle and it’s helped me not only see how defense react but also technically how I want to approach certain blocks – how I could do it better.”

Frederick, who is one of 1,300 NFL players this season to receive a Sleep Number 360 Smart Bed, said getting biometric data on his sleep habits has helped him to improve on rest and recovery.

And after what he endured earlier this year, any sign of progress helps him see a brighter future.

“Early on, when things were going downhill, the changes and improvements were so minute it was hard to quantify,” Frederick said. “(Now) I can tell that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I know the light is a long way away, but I can at least see the glimmer.”

Follow Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.