JULY 20 • 2023 | 19
A DETERMINED FIGHTER
Angela Sebald formed a special bond
with Nick during his college years,
working as MSU’s blindness and
visual impairment specialist. Sebald’s
job was to provide access so Nick
could be successful in his courses.
Sebald was in Nick’s life almost every
day of his college career.
In 2018, when Nick underwent the
first of his two brain surgeries in a
short span, he also happened to have
three exams that week. While in the
hospital, Nick and Dan video-called
Sebald. Nick, being Nick, looked at it
as just another challenge.
“I’m gonna get this brain surgery
done real quick, and then I’ll come
back and take my three exams
tomorrow,” Nick said on the call.
“Dan and I were laughing because
Nick would never dwell on the bad
things that were happening to him,”
Sebald said. “He would often talk
about the hand he was dealt and how
he was going to play it to the best of
his ability, and he absolutely did.”
Steve Watts, who witnessed
Nick’s perseverance firsthand as
his occupational therapist, said,
“Watching him over the years in this
battle with NF was awe-inspiring.
Undoubtedly, he’s the toughest
person I’ve ever met.”
Watts gave a lot of thought as
to how Nick would want to be
remembered. Helping others to live
their lives to the fullest, despite their
diagnosis and prognosis, is what
Nick would have wanted his legacy
to be.
Nick graduated from Michigan
State University in 2020 with a
marketing degree. Nick wanted to
do so many things, having a knack
for great ideas he wanted to see
through.
“He was a visionary,” Jennifer said.
“I have no doubt he would have
done huge things — he had really
big ideas and wasn’t afraid to chase
after them and figure out a way to
get them done.”
Many of those ideas focused
on sports and the music scene in
Detroit. One project of his will
be coming to fruition fairly soon.
Nick’s last project, one he had been
working on for the last few years,
was to build and operate a sports bar
in Downtown Detroit.
The sports bar, set to open about a
year from now, will be called Gilly’s
— the nickname Nick’s friends
affectionately called him. Many of
those friends, along with his loving
family and an endless number of
people Nick touched throughout his
life, will certainly be in attendance to
remember and celebrate him on the
bar’s opening night.
A LASTING LEGACY
Nick Gilbert climbed Masada. More
importantly, Nick Gilbert climbed
the mountain of life. From birth, he
was at a disadvantage. He had every
opportunity to give up when it got
too hard.
Instead, Nick faced life’s many
battles head-on, living one day at
a time, each as if it was his last.
He was devoted to his friends and
family, often thinking of them before
himself even while facing the most
adversity of anyone. His story will
continue to inspire individuals,
families and the NF community
worldwide.
Undoubtedly, the research
conducted in Nick’s memory will
save many and allow for countless
others to live life to its fullest just as
he did.
For every day of his life, Nick
Gilbert climbed and climbed. He
put one foot in front of the other,
not comparing or worrying about
others who had it easier, instead
encouraging them to keep going.
Nick Gilbert’s life, from one per-
spective, was an uphill climb. But if
you were to ask Nick himself, every
second of life was the summit.
RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM: Nick enjoying his favorite meal — macaroni and cheese.
Nick vacationing in Turks and Caicos in 2013.