You've got a friend in me

UT Dallas students Seth Rippentrop and Tate Lewis are roommates. 

It's not the pair's first time sharing a room together, however; the boys were first introduced back in 2002 in the NICU, when they were both fighting for their lives as infants. 

⏪ Background: At birth and a few weeks apart from one other, Seth and Tate were both diagnosed with hypoplastic heart syndrome, a congenital condition where the left side of the heart doesn't form properly. Each was given about a 40% chance to live past their first few days on Earth. 

• The boys' mom's met in the NICU all those years ago, and helped each other through those first few months – a large part of why the boys stayed in each other's lives until today.

💪 Talk about strength... Seth had to have three major surgeries in his first few years of life, and Tate, who also had a stroke that paralyzed one of his vocal chords, needed to have five. 

The boys were fighters, however, and each pulled through – creating a lasting bond that would lead them all the way to their college dorm. 

Now juniors at the University of Texas at Dallas, Seth and Tate are roommates, best friends, and just enjoying college life together. 

• "This was something we were born with, and so we have to treat it with care, but also we have to live life as well and set goals," Tate said about their condition.

📝 Bottom line: The boys never let their heart conditions get in the way. They grew up going to camp together each summer. And Tate loves golf, while Seth loves astrophysics.

“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,” Seth 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?”