On December 4, 2012, I received a text from my mom that I had been dreading for months. After consulting with numerous doctors, she had been officially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. While my mom maintained a positive attitude after the diagnosis, it was hard for me not to be upset by the news.

When I received the call, a SigEp brother was sitting beside me, and I remember how comforted I felt knowing that I wouldn’t be alone in the coming months. I didn’t realize just how right I was.

Early one Saturday morning, a chapter brother woke me up and took me to breakfast, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. Afterward, he suggested we go to a park and hang out for a little while.

To my surprise, we arrived to find 60 of my chapter brothers waiting for me.

Completely without my knowledge, the whole chapter had decided to raise money in support of MS research and donate their collections in my mom’s honor. They had gathered that morning to participate in an awareness walk, and would afterward pool their personal money to make a generous donation to the National MS Society.

When I saw what they had done, I called my mom to tell her about it. She was overwhelmed by the support shown to her by my brothers – men who didn’t even know her, but who would do anything for one of their brothers.

I learned that day what brotherly love truly means. My brothers offered my family strength in their unity, and my family and I will be forever grateful for the support and love shown to us by the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon.