Gabe

No parent should have to bury their child, but that was the reality that Dick and Josephine Weil faced when their adopted son Gabe was diagnosed with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy. By the age of ten, Gabe was wheelchair bound. By the time he was a teenager, he required a full time caretaker. Despite his grim diagnosis, Gabe made it his life goal to get a college degree, knowing that such an accomplishment was more than most could expect of him. In December of 2013, Gabe graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, fulfilling that dream. Nearly simultaneously, doctors informed him that he had been misdiagnosed all along, and as such, that he might live into his 50s. Although this news was overwhelmingly positive, it presented a surprising obstacle. Gabe did not have any long-term goals. He was forced to rethink his life from scratch. This radical shift in consciousness propelled him to set new goals, continue overcoming obstacles, and manifest more dreams. Gabe is a testament to human perseverance, and a reminder that despite our differences, we are all connected through our shared humanity.