BEREA, Ohio -- The tattoo on Browns center Nick McDonald's chest that bares the name of his late mother is a daily reminder of the tragedy he's overcome on his road to the NFL.

Over the next few weeks, McDonald might be pressed into service to replace the great Alex Mack -- who's likely lost for the season with a broken fibula -- but nothing that happens to him on the football field will be tougher than what's occurred in real life.

When McDonald was 14, his mom, Irene, died of colon cancer that spread to her liver. An admitted mama's boy, McDonald was crushed by her death.



"We were extremely close,'' he said.



His father, William, was so devastated that he left McDonald and his three siblings alone in their Sterling Heights, Mich., home and bolted for Louisiana.



"He had a really hard time with it,'' said McDonald, an Army brat whose parents were both in the military - his mom as a nurse and his dad in intelligence. "She was the love of his life.''



The McDonald children, three boys and a girl, were left alone in the house to fend for themselves. At the time, they were 18, 17, 14 and 11. McDonald was second-youngest, followed by his little brother Chris. William was the oldest, then Kathy. The kids had moved from one Army base to the next as kids, and had learned to take care of themselves and rely on each other.



"We were there by ourselves, but no one really ever said anything,'' said McDonald. "No one ever reported it, no one ever tried to just swoop in and take care of us. We basically had to figure it out for ourselves.''



William and Kathy worked to try to provide food for the kids, and McDonald did odd jobs when he could, when he wasn't playing football or basketball for Henry Ford High school in Sterling Heights.



"We figured it out,'' said McDonald. "We had our ways of trying to survive. We stuck with each other. We had some issues here and there, but we were all right.''



Occasionally, neighbors would bring food by, but mostly, they were on their own.



"We seemed to always find a way to eat or do something,'' he said. "It was never a huge struggle for us.''



The McDonald children, prone to the occasional party at the unsupervised home, somehow managed to keep things going for a couple of years. Finally, it all unraveled.



"We actually didn't make a house payment,'' said McDonald. "That's why we had to leave, because we ended up getting evicted from the house. The water was shut off, the electricity, the heat, eventually all of that. That's when we all had to split up.''



McDonald bounced around from place to place, to his grandmother's house and to the homes of some friends, but nothing seemed to stick. Finally, he was taken in by his then-girlfriend's mother, Gayle Joseph, who remains like a mother to him.



"I knew things weren't going well at home just by little things that he said," Joseph told Packers.com in 2010. "The reality was that I was dropping this boy off at a home where there were four kids and no parent and no money and no phone. It was really hard for me, but I was a little reluctant (to take him in) because he was dating my daughter."

Finally, she knew what she had to do.

"My motherly instincts just took over," Joseph said. "I said, 'You know what, I'm going to be his mother because he needs that. It was hard to watch the pain that Nick was going through. We talk about his mom, and I don't in any way try to replace her. She was a wonderful mom and has four wonderful kids.''

At the time, she'd remind McDonald, "You know what, your dad's messed up, but he does love you.' I want Nick to know that because it's hard for a kid to think they've lost one parent and the other parent isn't there for them,'' she said.

McDonald's little brother Chris moved just down the street from where they grew up.



"They had five kids, so they added a sixth and it worked out great,'' said McDonald. "He was happy.''



Even though the kids were scattered "we tried to keep in touch. We stayed really close.''



McDonald also found a father figure in his high school coach, Butch Wagner. Between Wagner and Joseph, they helped McDonald get through high school, get his driver's license and eventually get recruited by Division II Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich.



"He was a huge mentor for me,'' said McDonald.



But McDonald, still grieving over his mother's death, faltered at Grand Valley, almost flunking out as a redshirt freshman and getting in trouble for underage drinking. His coaches pulled him aside and gave him an ultimatum: Get it together or you're out. A criminal justice major with plans to join the military, he pulled himself together enough to become the starting left tackle and and earn conference Offensive Lineman of the Year as a senior.



"I was raised a certain way with my mom,'' he said. "Very religious, very family-oriented. I saw my mom battle cancer and she fought really hard until her last breath and that's always kind of been my motto in life, never give up and to always fight no matter how long it takes and what you have to do. That's just kind of how I've always lived my life since then.''



When McDonald was in first grade, his mom had made him a scrapbook, and in the space where it asks what he wanted to be when he grew up, he wrote "Football Player.'' But the dream mostly died until his senior year at Grand Valley, when it actually seemed possible.



McDonald wasn't invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was inactive the entire season, but still earned a Super Bowl ring at the end of the year. The following summer, the Packers released him in the final cuts -- a move that shocked him -- but he was signed to the Patriots' practice squad two days later, on Sept. 5, 2011. On Dec. 3 of that season, he was promoted to the Patriots' active roster and pressed into service at center because of injuries, starting two games that season.



At the end of the year, he went to the Super Bowl again with the Patriots, who lost that year to the Giants. Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer was also on the Patriots that season, his last year with the club. McDonald remained in New England through 2012, playing in 12 games that season and starting one.



In May of 2013, his brother Chris, who starred at Michigan State, signed with the Patriots as undrafted free agent and the two spent the offseason there together. Ultimately, they were both released by the end of camp that year, "but it was pretty special,'' said McDonald.



McDonald signed with the Chargers in January, and was released in July after breaking his wrist in a car accident. The Browns claimed him on waivers the next day, knowing that he'd be out at least four to six weeks with the wrist. McDonald came off the non-football injury list this week, practicing for the first time on Wednesday, and is gearing up to start at center for the Browns this season if needed.



Although he's only started two games at the position, it's more than anyone else on the roster. John Greco, who will start there Sunday in Jacksonville, never snapped the ball in an NFL regular-season game until he did so last week when Mack went down.



"Alex is a guy you can never replace,'' said McDonald. "He's an amazing football player, he's super-intelligent, he's a warrior. Coach Pettine said that. You can't replace the guy. All you can do is give your best efforts and learn the offense as fast as possible and try to help the team win.''



McDonald's incredible real-life drama --- similar to NFL tackle Michael Oher's in the movie The Blindside -- has been featured nationally, including on the Today Show. Whenever he gets the chance, he shares it in hopes that it will reach someone like him.



"It's an inspirational story,'' he said. "I don't mind talking about it. Any way that it can help some kids in need, that were in the same situation, I'll do my best to make them understand that things can be OK and to keep fighting through it, and eventually it will all work out.''



McDonald has recently reconciled with his father, whom he resented for years.



"He's definitely in my life,'' said McDonald. "He feels terrible for the past and what happened and he wants to work on our relationship and it's going well.''



McDonald knows he might not be in a Browns uniform -- or in the NFL at all -- if he hadn't experienced such tragedy.



"I've dealt with a lot in my life and it kind of led me to where I'm at,'' he said. "I'm grateful and blessed.''



And he knows Irene would be proud.