When an old friend and teammate from Notre Dame had a tragedy involving his long-time girlfriend, Dillan immediately stepped up to help out as much as he could. A former Notre Dame linebacker and a graduate of the Mendoza School of Business at Notre Dame, Green Martini had recently become a part of the Vanderbilt coaching staff when his 27-year-old girlfriend- Laura Fisher -was in a tragic accident on January 31st, 2022. The accident occurred between two vehicles at the corner of Charlotte Avenue and 42nd Avenue North in Nashville as Laura was working in a tent set up by her employer. As a result of the collision, one of the vehicles struck her body, tossing her into the air. She was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit at Vanderbilt University Hospital for over two weeks. She had emergency surgery where trauma surgeons set two plates into her fractured left arm. Laura also had a concussion, collapsed lungs, a broken clavicle that required surgery, several broken ribs on both sides, and fractures in her spine. Her left knee had a deep laceration which also required surgery and stitches. Tragically, Laura also sustained 14 fractures in her face and endured two reconstructive surgeries. She also fractured her front teeth, necessitating extensive dental work. She is dealing with PTSD following this accident.
Ms. Fisher amassed close to $800,000.00 in medical expenses. At the time of the accident, she was working as a performance coach. Fitness was her passion. Because of her injuries, she will likely never get back to the level of fitness required for her to train and instruct as she once did. Unfortunately, her employer did not have workers' compensation coverage at the time of this accident. That placed Laura in a very precarious financial situation. She did not have the financial means to pay her past medical expenses and had to pay out-of-pocket for essential dental work and other necessary medical treatment.
Senior Vanderbilt Linebacker Anfernee Orji joined forces with Big Man Big Heart to help Laura and his coach, Greer Martini. He became Vanderbilt’s Big Man Big Heart Campus Ambassador and the team at Big Man Big Heart started a GoFundMe to help. Laura, Greer, Dillan, and Anfernee were floored at the outpouring of support. They raised over $72,000.00 to help Laura with her medical expenses and loss of income in just 3 weeks. To Laura, this GoFundMe effort was more than just the financial support that she needed at one of the lowest points in her life. The support and messages from over 500 donors pouring in filled her with positive energy and love and lifted her up when she needed it the most. The experience has been so inspiring to Laura that she has offered to work for Big Man Big Heart to help change other people’s lives and will likely be doing just that as soon as she heals well enough to work.
