It’s every new parent’s worst nightmare.

Your baby is born with a rare heart condition and has only a 40 percent chance of survival.

But you find out you’re not alone – the baby next door has the same condition. And suddenly, despite being terrified, you now have someone else to share the worry. And, it turns out, a lifelong friend for your newborn.

“It was so scary and stressful,” recalled Kimberly Rippentrop, 54. “We weren’t given much hope.”

She said that she saw the mom of the other baby crying after leaving the waiting room.

“I hope that’s not us,” Kimberly recalled telling her husband, John.

Then a few minutes later, it was us.”

But, miraculously, both her son, Seth, and the baby next door, Tate Lewis, pulled through weeks after having surgery for hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital condition where the heart’s left side doesn’t form correctly.

Cheri and Tate Lewis, left, with Kimberly and Seth Rippentrop in 2003. Photo courtesy of the Lewis family

Now, this is the point where in a normal story, the families would part ways. Instead, 21 years later, both boys are reunited – as roommates at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Seth is studying physics and Tate is majoring in business administration. The pair, Kimberly said, decided to rent an apartment together after arrangements with former roommates didn’t work out.

“It’s emotional to see them together again now and know how far they’ve come,” she said. “Their connection is so strong, it’s like it was meant to be.”

Seth said that he and Tate got to know each other during Camp Moss, a summer camp in Texas for kids who have had heart surgeries.

“We’d see each other at camp every year and we were assigned to the same cabin,” he said. “Whenever we’d start talking, it was like no time had passed. We’d immediately pick up where we left off.”

Tate said that being able to bond over their shared heart problems made it easy for them to relate to each other.

Tate said the pair quickly bonded because they could each relate to what the other was going through.

Kimberly and her husband, John, along with Tate’s parents, Cheri and Duane Lewis, supported each other during the stressful weeks the boys were in the NICU, Tate said.

“Our moms formed a friendship, but because we lived in different towns, we didn’t get together very often,” he said. “But we’d come to camp and share any difficulties we’d had during the school year — like not being able to participate in everything other kids did because our heart conditions made us more tired.”

It always meant a lot to have somebody who understood like no one else could,” Tate said.

Seth said it’s a coincidence that he and Tate both decided to attend the University of Texas at Dallas.

Tate Lewis, left, and Seth Rippentrop at their apartment across the street from the University of Texas at Dallas campus. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Rippentrop

“We both came in as freshmen and started running into each other on campus,” he said. “Every once in a while, we’d get together for lunch and catch up.”

When both of their roommates found other living arrangements around the same time, “We reached out to each other and thought it would be a good idea to share an apartment,” recalled Tate.

“We remembered our fun times at Camp Moss,” Seth said. “Tate has always been a friendly and outgoing guy, and it’s been great to reconnect like this.”

He and Tate both hope that by sharing their stories others will see that having a heart condition doesn’t have to stop you from living a full life, Seth said. “We don’t let our limitations define us.”

The pair know that in the future they may have more issues with their hearts, but both said they are staying positive and know that they can’t take their life for granted.

“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.

Seth agreed. “We’ve already defied so many odds and we’ve already gone against so many expectations of what our life was going to be like so it makes me really hopeful for the future.”

Watch below to see these two miracle boys talk about their future.

Sources: Washington Post | Good Morning America