Buccaneers center Ali Marpet is honest.
He had no idea what cytomegalovirus was when he first heard of it.
Unfortunately, neither did the family of Tampa Bay's player personnel director until they learned first-hand about CMV's devastating effects.
Raising general awareness has since become a mission for John Spytek and his wife Kristen. Marpet will do his part by wearing customized shoes Dec. 3 at Green Bay as part of the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats campaign in Week 13.
"I didn't know about CMV, and that's one of the bigger things that appealed to me in doing this," Marpet told Sporting News last week in a telephone interview. "For me not knowing, that's a sign that obviously I have not been clued in enough."
That's also something the Spyteks hope changes among the populace, along with the outright eradication of the disease so other families don't have to experience the same tragedy they did.
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Cytomegalovirus (pronounced sy-toe-MEG-a-low-vy-rus) is a common virus that has infected more than half of U.S. adults over the age of 40, including one in every three children under the age of five, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although the virus permanently remains in the body, a healthy person's immune system usually keeps it from causing illness. Prenatal problems, though, can develop through congenital CMV if the virus spreads from a pregnant woman's blood through the placenta. Although some infected babies never experience related health issues, others can suffer a wide range of problems, from birth defects to intellectual disabilities to vision and hearing loss.
John and Kristen Spytek were unaware of CMV until she was 34 weeks pregnant and a routine ultrasound revealed an abnormality. At that time, in early 2013, John was a Broncos college scout, and Kristen was preparing for the birth of their first child.
"My husband and I purposely waited to start a family until we were into our 30s because we wanted to be financially and responsibly ready," Kristen Spytek told Sporting News in a telephone interview. "We thought we were very well prepared. All of this was news to us.
"Two educated people go in thinking we knew enough about pregnancy and what to look for and to then be blindsided by something (CMV) either one of us could have caught in passing, it was very terrifying."
John, Kristen and Evelyn Spytek (Photo courtesty of Spytek family)
Evelyn Spytek weighed three pounds, 14 ounces at birth. Her head circumference was affected by the ailment (microcephaly) now commonly associated with the Zika virus. She had impaired vision. She was deaf in both ears.
And she was a fighter.
Evelyn did her best to overcome physical and mental obstacles via therapy and medical treatment. But as she struggled to gain weight, the Spyteks opted for elective surgery to try and correct the problem. Complications arose from which Evelyn couldn’t recover.
Evelyn died the day after Christmas 2014 at the age of 21 months, just three weeks before Kristen gave birth to her son Jack.
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Amid the mix of heartbreak and happiness from both events that followed, the Spyteks became committed to honoring Evelyn’s memory by starting their own CMV movement. Kristen quit her marketing job to create a non-profit organization — the National CMV Foundation — that later merged with three similar associations to create a larger advocacy platform.
The ultimate goal is developing avenues that can help lead to congenital CMV becoming curable. The National CMV Foundation website also offers screening suggestions, support for those dealing with it and suggestions on how to minimize the impact.
"We're trying to educate women about how they can prevent themselves from acquiring the virus and, if they do, the stuff they can do in terms of treatments and trial formats going on," Kristen Spytek said. "There's so much work to do. We're lucky in that it has taken off from here now that we’ve gotten the support of the other groups."
Kristen and John Spytek serve as National CMV Foundation president and vice president, respectively, which is a heavy load onto itself, not to mention one being carried with another healthy infant (Thomas) now in their household along with Jack. John's duties with the Buccaneers are also hectic. He helps general manager Jason Licht constantly evaluate the roster and any player moves both in- or off-season that can potentially better the team.
John knows the outreach potential he has from being in the NFL and playing linebacker at Michigan in the early 2000s assists in drawing attention to CMV. But he admits using such pull sometimes comes with an emotional toll.
John Spytek (42) pictured during the Michigan-Ohio State game in 2001 (Getty Images)
"It kind of comes in waves for me," said Spytek, who joined Tampa Bay in the 2016 offseason. "There are times I feel wonderful about it and know it's a blessing to be able to try and move the needle to help other people. But it's emotionally challenging a lot of the time because it's a constant reminder that Evelyn had CMV and we lost her because of it.
"It's a grief that really never leaves."
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The Spyteks had high praise for the Bucs organization and those who have helped them through the grieving process and helped raise CMV awareness through a Facebook and upcoming video campaign. Among them is Bucs salary cap chief Mike Greenberg. He connected the Spyteks with Marpet, a third-year Bucs starter who was seeking a cause for his cleats.
The shoes, which are being designed with suggestions from Kristen, will emphasize various CMV internet hashtags as well as the foundation’s website and Bucs-themed colors. CMV resonated with Marpet on multiple levels, including his own prior charitable endeavors spending time with sick children.
"I can only imagine being in their position. It’s unbelievable," the 24-year-old Marpet said of the Spyteks. "There's a couple ways people can respond to that type of tragedy. For them to start a foundation to raise awareness is just incredible."
It's also something John Spytek felt was a necessity in the healing process for him and his family.
"When Evelyn passed, there were two things we could do: nothing or something," he said. "We’re not do-nothing people. We do what feel like we have a responsibility. And there’s more that needs to be done because this is so important and affects a lot of people every year.
"I take a lot of solace knowing that slowly but surely we are moving the needle."
Along with the push from a 6-4, 307-pound lineman.
Alex Marvez can be heard from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
