GreekChat.com Forums - The Power of Brotherhood...

We finally get some good press, and its awesome. What a
GREAT story. Makes me proud to be greek. The final quote is
awesome. That is what brotherhood is all about.
I wish the best for this kid.

Chattanooga Times Free Press
November 2, 2003

Bond of brotherhood
Fraternity reaches out to brother after serious accident

By Jan Galletta Staff Writer

Throughout his college career, Matt Longmire, 22, had enjoyed the
social life and the sense of belonging that came with his membership
in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity chapter at the University of
Tennessee at Chattanooga.

But the Murfreesboro, Tenn., man said it wasn't until the last six
months that he learned what the organization's motto, "No man is one
man," really meant.

In May, a head-on collision with a drunk driver near Knoxville put
Mr. Longmire in an intensive care unit where he hovered between life
and death for weeks. The right side of his face was torn from scalp
to cheek, his ribs were cracked, and his right leg was so damaged
that amputation seemed likely.

Outside the trauma room where he lay in a coma, the Phi Delts rallied
for an outpouring of support that helped to drive his recovery,
according to Mr. Longmire's mother, Rosemary Longmire, 53.

Mr. Longmire said he doesn't remember the accident or anything about
the first three weeks after it. "But the fact they were there doesn't
surprise me," he said. "The fraternity means so much to me. These
guys are my best friends."

After the accident, his mother said, the bond between family and
fraternity formed quickly. More than 30 Phi Delts filled the hospital
halls at once, she said.

"Even though they couldn't see Matt, they brought pictures, made
posters, gave hugs and told stories about Matt and why his friendship
was important to them," she said. Their concern, she said,
"overwhelms me."

Chris Dyer, a senior who is president of the international
fraternity's UTC chapter, said the accident "really took a toll" on
the brotherhood.

"It helped us come together," he said. "Even people who live out of
state came to visit Matt. One of our brothers missed his little
brother's high school graduation so he could be at the hospital with
Matt.

"We aren't the richest fraternity or the one with the most members,
but the quality of our guys showed through this summer."

The Longmires took pictures of each Phi Delt who came to lend support
during their son Matt's five-week hospital stay, according to Mrs.
Longmire. She said the photos went with him to a two-week stint in a
rehabilitation center.

As he'd done when he defied his doctor's earlier prognosis -- that
he'd be hospitalized six months, spend a month in rehab and walk no
sooner than two years -- Mr. Longmire bucked the odds and returned to
UTC this fall as a senior majoring in business marketing.

He came back with a legacy of surgeries that included removing his
spleen, as well as inserting a hip-to-ankle rod in his right leg and
a series of metal plates in the area of his right eye socket.

While the wheelchair he earlier used on campus has since been
replaced with a cane, Mr. Longmire hasn't yet resumed driving. He
takes physical therapy to build strength in the leg that, even last
month, was still at risk for amputation.

But as it's been since May, the brotherhood helps meet his needs.

Among the Phi Delt mainstays is his roommate, Jason Harding, 20, of
Spring City, Tenn., a junior majoring in business management.

He's served as a chauffeur, taking Mr. Longmire to and from classes
and social functions, has done the lion's share of housework at their
apartment and straps on his own leg weights to pace Matt during daily
physical therapy.

"I don't care if I'm on a date or not, it doesn't cramp my style a
bit," said Jason of taking his friend in tow. "I'm just glad to see
that he's here."

Rosemary Longmire said the fraternity's support of her son "has made
such a difference in his recovery. It was a big factor in our
decision to let him return to school."

But Mr. Longmire said he doesn't expect his Phi Delta Theta
involvement to end with what he hopes will be his full recovery, or
at his planned graduation next year. He said, "I see us all hanging
out together until we're 50 or 60.

"These guys are going be my groomsmen at my wedding. They're going to
carry my casket at my funeral."

"But," added Jason, "we'll do a whole lot of hanging out in between."