‘Every day we have is a gift’: Former NICU babies, now college roommates

Aug 07, 2023

UT Dallas students Seth Rippentrop and Tate Lewis didn’t intend on going to the same school or living together. It just worked out that way.

“Felt like this has been a work in progress our whole lives,” Lewis said.

The two were roommates once before.

Both were born in the NICU at Children’s Health in August of 2002 and diagnosed with the same abnormal heart condition – hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Both were given just a 40% chance of survival.

“I’ve had five open heart surgeries, I’ve had a stroke, paralyzed vocal cord, I’ve been [air-lifted] but at no point was I going to say, ‘OK, this is my life,’” Lewis said.

Together the pair persevered through surgeries and underwent the same specialized care at Children’s Health.

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They spent summers attending a camp for heart patients.

Now they’re going into their junior year of college pursuing their own passions.

Tate loves golf and Seth loves astrophysics.

They know there will be more challenges ahead, but it helps when you have a roommate who shares the same outlook on life.

“I just live day to day blessed to be here and excited looking into the future and not worrying about what’s next because I don’t define that, God defines that,” said Lewis. “For those of you worried ‘What’s next?’ Understand there’s nothing that says you can or can’t do something.”

“I think it’s easy to get caught up with what’s a guarantee and what’s not and just the uncertainty about the future, but one – no one really has a guarantee on anything, and two – we’re both already 21,” Rippentrop said. “We weren’t expected to live past birth. Every day we have is a gift from God. We’ve already defied so many odds – how many more will we defy?”