Matt began the next phase of his life when he arrived at Marshall. He would be playing as a true freshman, a rare opportunity. But his first year at Marshall was not a happy time for him. Julie was almost a year younger than Matt and was still a senior in high school. Matt thought, A long-distance relationship won't do any good. She'll probably go off to some different school next fall and I'll probably never see her again. The thought nearly killed Matt. Julie was the only girl he really loved, and he knew long-distance relationships never worked out. So he was surprised, a year later, to see Julie walk into his room.

"Julie! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Matt.

"Going to school, just like you," said Julie. "I had a horrible senior year without you. Being away from you for a year made me realize that I never want to be away from you again. So I decided to come here."

Matt was amazed. He thought, Wow. I really have the best girlfriend in the world.

Matt's sophomore and junior seasons were excellent. Even though he played for a small school, he was starting to get some attention. And on New Year's Eve of his junior year at Marshall, Matt proposed to Julie. Even though they were young, Matt figured, Hey, when you know you've found the person for you, why wait?

The summer after Matt proposed, they decided to expand their ranks-with a puppy. It was actually Julie's idea. They ended up purchasing a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. The research had shown that they were very sweet, lovable family dogs, which was good in a house that would eventually include children. Their puppy, which was a tricolor, fit right in.

Julie picked up the puppy and asked Matt, "What should we name him?"

Matt said, "Teddy."

Julie replied, "Teddy? As in Shoebridge?"

Matt replied, "Yes. We're at Marshall. It makes sense."

Julie smiled and said, "I like it."

Matt had a great senior season, but he and Julie suffered personal heartbreak when Julie had a miscarriage. Matt ended up entering the NFL Draft and being drafted. He and Julie were married weeks later.

Matt began NFL practices, but found himself a little more tired than usual. Initially he thought, Welcome to the NFL.

One day after practice, Julie threw a small blue foam football to Matt.

Matt said, "Nice spiral, Julie. But why-?"

She then threw a small pink foam football at him.

Matt looked at the footballs and at Julie's smiling face. He said, "You're pregnant again?"

She said, "Yes."

A few weeks later, when they went in for the sonogram, they were clearly able to see the baby. The doctor said the baby was ten weeks along. Matt did the math and realized that the baby had been conceived on their honeymoon.

However, Matt soon felt as if something inside of him had changed. During a Monday Night Football game, Matt suddenly had no air on his passes. The announcers commented on it:

"Saracen seems to be off his game."

"He sure does. His passes aren't going anywhere."

Matt normally excelled in crunch time, but this game, he had no energy. He felt winded just walking to the bench. Not only that, but he had taken an inadvertent kick to the groin during a sack. It seemed to hurt much, much worse than it should have. And for the first time, he noticed a lump. He figured it was just a knot or something from being kicked. After they lost the game, Matt looked in the mirror and noticed that his face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot. Not only that, but the lump was not going away. A couple days later, he went to a local clinic for some tests. When he came back, Julie, now four months pregnant, was waiting for him.

She said, "So, what's going on?"

Matt said, "A lot." He sighed and said, "Julie, there's something I need to tell you."

"What?"

"I-I-" Matt didn't even want to say it.

"What is it, Matt?"

Matt sighed, burst into tears, and said, "I have cancer."