"I just want my Matt back," she replied.
"After three years of dating, physical appearance was such a small part of everything I loved about Matt," Emily said. "And it wasn't like something was taken away. I still think he looks beautiful. And I know there are many other beautiful parts of him."
On Nov. 12, 10 days after the crash, the university's swim coach, Mark Bernardino, brought Matt a present, a T-shirt.
"I'm tired of seeing you in that hospital gown," said Bernardino, who'd been visiting every day, often twice.
On the shirt was a quote from North Carolina State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano, shortly before he died of cancer:
Don't give up, don't ever give up. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal, and you have to be willing to work for it.
That day, Bernardino - Matt's swim coach before Matt quit to pursue his new love, triathlons - became Matt's coach again.
Every day they walked, first down halls, then up stairs.
On Nov. 15, Bernardino walked two flights with Matt.
On Nov. 16, two weeks after the accident, Bernardino walked Matt from his sixth-floor hospital room, up two flights to the eighth floor, down eight flights to the first floor, and up six flights back to Matt's room.
The next day, Bernardino said his calves were "on fire."
Matt was fine.
"I honestly don't think very many people could have lived through his trauma," said Bernardino. "His engine was so powerful, his lungs, his heart, and his mind. I call that the engine of an athlete. They were so tuned, so fit, so ready for battle.
"He thought his battle would be a triathlon. And he found himself unexpectedly in the battle for his life."
Bernardino, who grew up in Drexel Hill and attended Cardinal O'Hara High School, could see the hospital staff watching Matt's recovery in disbelief.
"Matt could feel their joy and excitement at what he was doing medically," the coach said. "He was making them shake their heads, and he was loving it."
Matt was driven, in the way he'd always been driven.
"I have been given so much my whole life," he later explained, "that when I have to work for something, I work as hard as I possibly can without even considering other options."
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