16 | JULY 20 • 2023 

them.
“We wanted to help him. He could 
have picked anyone to help him navigate 
through life, but he picked us,” brother 
Grant said. “This meant we got to con-
tribute to his happiness while spending 
bonus time laughing together. We needed 
these moments, and we absolutely needed 
him much more than he needed us. We 
simply would not be the same without the 
lessons he taught us.”
People would meet Nick and then feel 
indebted to him, not because of the prom-
inent family he was part of or if he was 
giving someone something, but because 
of the way he made people feel.
“He had this gravitational pull about 
him; you just wanted to be around him,” 
Grant said. 
The way Nick lived life allowed those 
who came into contact with him to do the 
same. 
“I think he connected with so many 
people because he was so comfortable 
with himself that it allowed other peo-
ple to feel comfortable with themselves 
around him,” sister Gracie said. “That’s 
definitely how I felt around him. I never 
felt like I couldn’t say anything or couldn’t 
feel a certain way. He was a very safe per-
son for me and a lot of other people.”
Nick loved his siblings and adored his 
parents, and more than anything, family 

was of foremost importance to Nick. He 
wouldn’t miss a family trip, party or din-
ner. Nick was someone who brought his 
family together and wanted to be around 
them all the time. 
“
As a mother with a child who was 
chronically ill, he made it a little bit easier 
because he was never afraid,” Jennifer 
said. “He was like, OK, let’s just meet 
this challenge and get on the other side 
because I’ve got things to do. As a mother, 
I think that allowed me to not suffer or 
worry as much.
“Not that the worry wasn’t there, but 
whether it was an intentional gift or 
inherent, he didn’t feel sorry for himself, 
so we didn’t pity him. And we didn’t nec-
essarily live our lives differently.” 

MEDICAL CHALLENGES 
In February 2018 on a visit home from 
MSU, Nick fell and was taken to the hos-
pital for what everyone thought would be 
a few stitches. As a precaution, the doc-
tors ordered an MRI which showed sig-
nificant growth of a tumor that was being 
monitored just above Nick’s brain stem. 
Due to the location, a less invasive laser 
ablation surgery was chosen as the next 
step. Unfortunately, it was not successful, 
and the tumor continued to progress. 
The following month, Nick was back 
in surgery to get him out of danger by 

removing as much of the tumor as they 
could, knowing that further interventions 
would be needed. 
Five weeks of radiation and other drug 
protocols were administered in an attempt 
to stall the growth of the tumors. 
Although the last surgery was 
successful in saving Nick’s life, it 
unfortunately left him permanently 
disabled, requiring constant occupational 
and physical therapy. At the end of his 
life, Nick was in a wheelchair, yet he never 
gave up the hope one day he would walk 
again. 
This past year ended up being the most 
challenging for Nick. While continuing to 
receive treatments for the tumors, Nick 
developed hydrocephalus, a condition 
caused by an abnormal build-up of fluid 
in the cavities deep within the brain. This 
required another procedure, which he had 
in fall 2022. Complications followed and 

ABOVE: Nick and his friends celebrating New Year’s Eve in December 2022. 
RIGHT: Nick graduated Michigan State University with a B.S. in Marketing in 2020.

continued from page 15

continued on page 18

OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER

