After Lexi came home, life at the Saracen house changed dramatically. In March, Lily turned five and Landon turned two. Lily started playing hockey, and proved herself to be an excellent player despite her young age. Of course, she insisted on wearing number seven, just like her dad.

Julie, on the other hand, was in a fog. Lexi was a very colicky, fussy baby, which greatly frustrated and distressed Julie. The combination of a fussy. colicky newborn and the sudden shock of the two CF diagnoses were too much for her to handle. She ended up slipping into postpartum depression. Although it took a long time for her to recover, thankfully, eventually, she did.

That summer, Matt and Julie had Lily tested to see if she was a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene. They were scared to death, even though the doctors assured them it was extremely unlikely that Lily would actually have the disease. The doctor called them when the results came back.

Julie hung up the phone and said, "Matt, Lily is not a carrier. The tests did not find the cystic fibrosis gene at all. So she will absolutely never have to worry. Isn't that great news?"

Matt said, " Yes. That's wonderful." However, despite the happiness they felt at hearing the good news about Lily, Matt could not help wondering, Not only does Lily not have the disease, she doesn't even carry the gene. Why was she the only one of our children spared? Why?

Lily walked in and said, "Daddy, you said Landon and Lexi are sick, right?"

Matt thought, Oh, boy. Here come some tough questions. He told her, "Yes. But they're not sick like you would be sick if you got a cold. They're sick because something's wrong inside them."

"What made Landon and Lexi sick, Daddy?"

Matt sighed and told Lily, "Well, Landon and Lexi were born... You know how I always have a game plan for every game?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's kind of what made them sick. Something's wrong with their 'game plan', or genetic blueprint. Your genetic blueprint is full of genes. Not like blue jeans, but these genes make you you.'

"I don't get it."

"Well, Lily, your genes say that you are a girl, you have brown hair and brown eyes and great athletic ability."

"Now I get it."

"Landon and Lexi, on the other hand, have a gene that isn't healthy. This gene tells them to have cystic fibrosis."

"Do you and Mommy have the gene?"

"Yes, Lily. But Landon and Lexi have two copies, and Mommy and I only have one. You need two to have cystic fibrosis. So Mommy and I only carry the gene."

"Do I carry the gene?"

"No, Lily. You do not."

Lily looked at Matt and said, "Why? Why don't I?" This absolutely broke Matt's heart, because he had no answer for that question.

As the new season began, Matt hoped that it would be less stressful than the previous one. But it did not work that way.

In a game in October, Matt got hit by a defender on a blitz that he had never seen coming. The hit slammed his head onto the ground, and he suffered a concussion. He immediately tried to get to his feet, but the trainers came out and told him, "No, no, you need to stay down." Matt laid on the field as a stretcher was brought out.

Jason Street, who happened to be watching the game, had flashbacks of his own injury thirteen years earlier. He said, "Come on, Saracen. Get up. Get up." Even though he and Matt hadn't actually seen each other since Jason had visited him after Matt's second cancer surgery, they still communicated often and had become friends.

As Matt was strapped to the stretcher, he gave a thumbs-up to let Julie and his kids know that he was all right. Once Matt got to the hospital, he was examined and the doctors s recommended that he be placed on IR and not play for the rest of the year. Matt wasn't happy, but he knew it was for the best. This was the first major injury Matt had ever suffered in thirteen years of football, counting back to his high school days. He laid down, tried to close his eyes, and thought, How could things get any worse?