On Wednesday afternoon, the two men who'd turned Matt on to cycling, along with McNabb, flew down from Philadelphia to visit Matt and the family.
A Vanguard managing director, Tim Buckley, 40, had helped Matt pick out his Look road bike, which Emily had named Black Beauty. Over the summer, Buckley and Chris McIsaac, a Vanguard principal, had invited Matt to ride with them weekdays at 5:30 a.m.
They were amazed that a college student would rise at 5, and even more amazed at just how good he got.
"In a matter of weeks, he accomplished what it had taken me years to accomplish in terms of fitness on the bike," said McIsaac, 34, who has competed in the Ironman Triathlon - a 2.4-mile swim, 112 miles on the bike, and a 26.2-mile run.
On one of their first rides, at French Creek State Park, Matt crested the nastiest hill right with Buckley, who pointed out that Matt's thighs were quivering, in spasm.
"It's going to take a lot more to break me," Matt had said.
In September, Matt had competed in his first triathlon, the relatively short Sandman Triathlon in Virginia Beach, Va. He finished fourth out of 465 men and was second-fastest on the bike - 26 m.p.h. for 14 miles.
He'd been training for three months.
When McIsaac heard about Matt's accident, "my heart just dropped," he said.
"I know intellectually that we were not responsible. This type of stuff just happens. . . . Nevertheless, there's this gnawing feeling that you had something to do with it, knowing that you had been a big part of his love affair with cycling."
The three men, hoping to see Matt but feeling too awkward to ask, sat in the visiting area with the family for a couple of hours, then got up to leave.
"Hey, tell Matt we're looking forward to seeing him," Buckley said.
"Do you want to see him?" Mike Miller asked.
Absolutely, they all agreed.
"You sure you can handle it?"
Absolutely.
Only relatives were allowed in the ICU, just two at a time, but the doctors had said it would be good for Matt to hear familiar voices even if it still wasn't clear what he heard.
"Just follow me and don't stop," Mike told them as he led his three colleagues up the elevator, through the ICU doors, and right into Matt's room.
Mike Miller said to his son, "Matt, some friends are here to see you: Bill McNabb and Tim and Chris."
Matt's eyes opened and stayed open.
He clearly recognized them. He reached up, as if trying to give them a hug. But his arms were restrained.
Not knowing what to say, the men started making small talk and, soon, trash talk.
McIsaac told Matt that his pulse during surgery - 42 - was lower than Buckley's had been during his recent surgery.
Matt gave a thumbs-up.
Then Buckley said, "Hey, Matt, Chris is burning up that the last ride you went on together you dropped him. He thinks he can take you when you get out."
Matt, passionately, shook his head. As if to say, "No way."
At that point, Mike Miller simply wept.
He kissed his son on the forehead, then let him rest.
Contact staff writer Michael Vitez at 215-854-5639 or mvitez@phillynews.com.
