Project 49

Dear Chewey –

In November 2018, quarterback Alex Smith of the Washington Redskins (as they were known at the time) suffered one of the most horrifying leg injuries in professional sports history when he was sacked in the third quarter of a game against the Houston Texans. Smith suffered a compound spiral fracture to his tibia and fibula.

Smith’s injured leg was devastating. However, his situation worsened dramatically when he developed necrotizing fasciitis shortly after his initial surgery to repair the damage. The infection eventually led to sepsis.

Seventeen surgeries later—eight of which were debridements—Smith began one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, working his way back into both physical and mental shape. In just under two years, he made his improbable return to an NFL field, entering a Week 5 game in the second quarter for starting quarterback Kyle Allen.

In May 2020, just four months before my own catastrophic injuries, ESPN’s award-winning documentary series E60 released an episode titled Project 11, chronicling Smith’s journey (his jersey number was 11) from childhood through the injury he refused to let define him.

While I’m far from an NFL prospect, I have to admit I find many parallels between Smith’s story and my own. Hence the reason I now semi-plagiarize the title of his documentary and make it my own...

As you know, I turned 49 this past Saturday. As I often do on my birthdays, I found myself reflecting on all the July 19ths that came before this one. But for the first time, I spent more time staring ahead at next year’s birthday rather than reminiscing about past celebrations.

I suppose that’s natural, given the looming half-century mark awaiting me in a year. But it got me thinking about what I want my life to look like when I reach that inevitable (or so I hope) milestone.

Thus begins Project 49, which WILL become a book—if only read by an audience of one—by this time next year.

Between now and July 2026, I will have somehow finished my bachelor’s degree, traveled all over Europe, started a new career for the first time in twenty years, and moved to a new place somewhere in the world. Oh, and let’s not forget the most important part—I get to move back in with you (so get your cardio going, because walks are coming)!

Someone I both respect and admire—someone who might be just a little bit crazy—thought it would be a good idea to catalog all of this upcoming chaos. So I’m going to give it a shot for a year, no matter how much it conflicts with my natural inclination to underachieve.

So here’s to Project 49, and here’s to another year of life…if achieved only one day at a time.