Something Positive....

[scottditzen]

Great story to remind everyone why we support the Zips.Props to Elton Alexander and the Plain Dealer.http://www.cleveland.com/collegesports/pla....xml&coll=2Odofin returns from crash that killed friendThursday, November 27, 2008Elton AlexanderPlain Dealer ReporterAfter seeing the face of death, Akron Zips defensive lineman Deni Odofin has realized that life must go on.It was just over a year ago, Nov. 24, 2007, the day after the Zips had ended their season with a loss to Central Michigan. Odofin was riding on a winding road with two childhood friends near their Endicott, N.Y., home, including Army PFC Philip Diaferio, who was on leave from the Iraq war.When the car unexpectedly hit a patch of gravel and swerved hard into a guard rail, a lot of lives changed. Diaferio, the driver, died at the scene. James Bronson suffered facial injuries and was treated and released. Odofin had a left femur snapped in half that required a pin to heal, two pins in his left knee, one pin in his left hip, ripped ligaments on his right knee bone, broken ribs and back problems.Nobody expected to see Odofin on the football field this season, if ever."For a long time, we felt he would never play this game again," Akron coach J.D. Brookhart said.But as the Zips head into Friday's game against Temple in Philadelphia, Odofin has not just returned to practice, but has played in seven games, making seven tackles.Quick recoveryIn the big picture, it's amazing Odofin is even walking. Doctors and trainers expected the 6-3, 230-pound defensive end to take 18 months or more to heal. But he started seeing dividends on his rehabilitation within seven months after the accident."I could finally start walking regular in June," the sophomore said. "I could walk straight." Still, when preseason camp began, Odofin was an afterthought. Even if his bones were healed, the atrophy in his muscles would take time to recover. The muscles in his left leg had balled into knots from little or no exercise.Yet the more he worked out, the more his bones and muscles responded."Based on how long they said it would take, and the injuries I had when I got hurt, I thought it would take longer," Odofin said. "I didn't even have one good leg to stand on when I started. I thought I would not be back until spring ball." In preseason, Brookhart said this team featured the deepest collection of defensive linemen the Zips had going into the season, even without Odofin. But after camp and the first few games, Akron's defensive linemen seemed to be sidelined with injuries by twos and threes."We were down to our fifth nose guard by Ball State [game three]," Brookhart said. "In a lot of ways this was unfair to [Odofin]. He's not where he's going to be. But he was just getting back to practicing, so we asked him to play. He didn't hesitate.""I didn't know if I wanted to risk it," Odofin said. "I'm still kind of confused what made up my mind. But I kept thinking of [former Akron safety] John Mackey from last year, how he played with his entire knee -- torn ACL, torn MCL -- his entire knee was gone and he came back to play in two weeks. I can only play so long, so why not go out and see how it goes?"So far, so good, as he has averaged about 15 snaps per game, but still has hip pain and said he will have surgery on it after the season."He's not where he needs to be, but he provides us a quick-twitch body," Brookhart said. "He is playing on pure athleticism and whatever percent his body can give."RemembranceYet one year after the accident, Odofin has found emotional healing from the accident is as much of a process as physical healing. "Not a day goes by, it's always in the back of my mind," Odofin said of the accident.For Greg Diaferio, Phil's father, the reflections about his son's death are soothed some by the fact nobody else perished, and that Odofin has found his way back onto the football field."As a family, we're still reeling from the fact that Phil died," Greg said. "It's still a roller-coaster for us. But he was the type of person, if he had lived, and either Jimmy or Deni had passed away, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself. You know what I'm saying." The entire Diaferio family has tried to keep Phil's spirit alive.They started a scholarship fund in Diaferio's name for Endicott Union High School, where the three friends went to school. Diaferio's cousin, Andy Wahila, 24, and two of his friends spent February through May running across the country -- from Savannah, Ga., to San Diego -- and getting donations sent to the scholarship fund."We felt we could keep my cousin's name going," Wahila said. "Across the country, people got to hear his story."Greg Diaferio said he was encouraged to see that Odofin is not only healing fast, but has returned to playing."I was surprised he was able to go back," Greg said. "He's a strong-willed kid. Tell Deni we're thinking about him, and we're proud of his accomplishments and his willpower."Odofin said getting back onto the field was about more than football -- it was about trying to live life and move on."I can't change what happened," he said. "What's done is done. I know there is worse pain than this."To donate: PFC Philip J. Diaferio Memorial Fund, c/o M&T Bank, 540 Hooper Road, Endwell, N.Y., 13760.To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ealexander@plaind.com, 216-999-4253

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

Thanks for posting that Scott. Nice article, and here's hoping that the recoveries by all involved move forward smoothly.GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip