We knew very early that Drew would be different.  But we are surprised almost daily how normal life is for Drew.  While our love for Drew never faltered, we expected Drew to struggle a little more with simple tasks that through practice and sheer determination Drew has mastered.  Drew is almost oblivious to his unique qualities teaching those of us fortunate enough to be a part of his life that if we believe that we have limits, then we’re right.

In the past few weeks Drew has accomplished many new feats and our feelings of pride and awe have grown exponentially, disproving the notion that we couldn’t be more proud of him.  Someone this inspiring is more than worthy of a blog dedicated to chronicling his life.

In addition, we anticipate 2011 as being a big year for Drew: he’s starting school this year and there is a great potential that we’ll be taking many great adventures to far away places in search of reconstructive surgery for Drew’s legs.  Our future endeavors will be both rewarding and stressful, but how nice it will be to look back on this blog 10 to 20 years from now and laugh at the tears and cry through the laughter!

The Gattens

Nathan and I have been together for almost eight years and married for for over five years.  Drew is our one and only child and the absolute center of which our entire world revolves around.  We spend a lot of time together as a family wrestling, playing games, playing outdoors and visiting locations near and far in order to expand our horizons and create memories.

Both Nathan and I work full time.  Nathan works on the river for two-week intervals meaning he is away from home for the entire two weeks however he enjoys another two weeks off at home.  Six months of vacation a year is one hell of a benefit.  If it weren’t for the love and support of multiple family members who care for Drew as much as Nathan and I do, we’d never be able to hold it together.

We have one large Labrador Retriever named Sargeant Nash who responds to Sarge.  Sarge is a little bit more of a troublemaker than Drew is and I only jokingly say that he is harder to love.  It’s a little hard to admit it right now as we’ve been staring at chewed up wallpaper and wall panelling in our kitchen for a couple weeks debating the best way to repair it.  Damn dog.