{"id":5080,"date":"2024-04-28T21:15:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T01:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teamimpact.org\/?p=5080"},"modified":"2024-04-29T13:58:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T17:58:04","slug":"the-gatto-family-and-bu-hockey-just-meant-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamimpact.org\/about\/blog\/the-gatto-family-and-bu-hockey-just-meant-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gatto Family and BU Hockey: Just Meant to Be"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the Gatto family first heard about Team IMPACT, they were unsure if it was right for them. Mom Sara was pretty set on participating, but dad Nick was on the fence. Their son, Logan, was not a fan of sports. No one in their family was really a fan of sports, and Nick was struggling to see what benefit his son could gain from the sports-centered program. \u201cBut now,\u201d Nick said, \u201cwe\u2019re a BU hockey family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This identity wasn\u2019t always so easy for Logan and his family to find. Logan was not even a year old when he started having seizures\u2014and once the seizures started, they happened frequently. His doctors thought he would grow out of them, but in the months after they began, he had had dozens more, and his parents were no closer to finding an answer why. When his neurologist ordered an EEG after a particularly tough string of seizures, Logan had a massive seizure in the middle of the test, proving to his doctors that this was an issue that wasn\u2019t going to go away on its own. He was about a year and a half old at this point and experiencing seizures almost weekly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gattos and their doctors worked for months to cover genetic testing that scanned the 300 most common causes of genetic epilepsy\u2014tests that came back negative and got them no closer to a diagnosis. After another round of back-and-forth with their insurance, they were approved for a full exome sequencing, and finally they found something. But this something was so rare it didn\u2019t even have a name. Because it was caused by a mutation on the HNRNPU gene, doctors simply called it an \u201cHNRNPU-related disorder.\u201d The way it presented in Logan, through epilepsy and developmental delays, was just one of countless presentations this group of ultra-rare disorders could cause. Even now, nearly eight years later, the Gattos have yet to meet another person with the same diagnosis as their son. But having a diagnosis meant having a plan. They met other HNRNPU families online, sharing stories and learning through their experiences. Their diagnosis community was small, but because of this diagnosis, the Gattos\u2019 community grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Logan and Pierce with Wally the Green Monster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Months before they became a hockey family, the Gattos had a front row seat to the magic of Team IMPACT through their close family friends, the Sabins, whose son Pierce is matched with the soccer team at BU. In fact, the Gattos and Sabins go way back. \u201cI\u2019ve known Jill [Sabin] since she was ten years old,\u201d Nick said. Jill\u2019s older brother is Nick\u2019s childhood best friend, and as soon as Sara came into the picture, she and Jill bonded instantly. Now, with both their children matched on teams at Boston University through Team IMPACT, the Gatto and Sabin families have grown even closer. \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing,\u201d Nick said. \u201cIt\u2019s been great having someone so close who also knows the struggles and issues that come along with having a kid with a disability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been wild,\u201d Sara said of going through this journey with her best friend. \u201cEven though Logan\u2019s disability and Pierce\u2019s are very, very different, as moms, Jill and I both understand where we\u2019re coming from. If we\u2019ve had a rough doctor\u2019s appointment, if we\u2019ve had a day where we\u2019re just totally overwhelmed, even though our kids are very different, there\u2019s still those similar mom concerns and feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Logan, Pierce, and Pierce’s sister Peyton at Logan’s Signing Day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The network of friends and support that the Gattos and Sabins have been building together for years grew exponentially when Team IMPACT came into their lives, in ways neither family ever expected. \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing to have that person to lean on and be able to talk through things with,\u201d Sara said, \u201cand now with Team IMPACT, we know Maria [Valencia] (mom of Simon, Northeastern hockey) and Nar [Lee] (mom of Mia, Tufts field hockey), Melissa [Bello] (mom of Josh, Boston College hockey), and so many other families. As parents, that is invaluable. Of all the things we expected from Team IMPACT, this was something I didn\u2019t expect. You go into it focused on everything with the team, you don\u2019t necessarily think about the relationships you\u2019re going to make with families from other schools and teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Gattos continued to do more and more with the hockey team, they were exposed to not only student-athletes who changed their lives but a new group of families who understood exactly what they were going through. “Families in our world are constantly running from appointment to appointment and therapy to therapy to do the best for our kids<\/strong>,\u201d Sara said. \u201cTeam IMPACT is a break from all of the hard stuff. We get to go and watch Logan light up and just be a kid playing with his favorite guys.<\/strong>” This relief and this new calmness was not something the Gattos anticipated when they got matched with the Terriers in the fall of 2022. \u201cThere are some things we just didn\u2019t expect, and we certainly didn\u2019t expect this,\u201d Nick said. \u201cDuring games when we\u2019re playing a team that has a Team IMPACT match, we\u2019ll meet up between periods and just chat, let the kids hang out for a few minutes. That\u2019s not something we thought we were going to be doing but it\u2019s amazing to do. It\u2019s a nice little connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Logan and Josh, matched with BC hockey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Simon, matched with Northeastern hockey, and Logan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because the Gattos are matched with a hockey team in a part of the country where hockey is a pretty big deal, they\u2019ve been able to meet multiple other families and teams with Team IMPACT matches. Since 2022, all four teams participating in Boston\u2019s Beanpot Tournament\u2014a city-wide hockey tournament that spans two weekends and includes Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, and Harvard\u2014participate in Team IMPACT and dedicate the tournament to their teammates Logan, Josh, Simon, and Parker. The four families now have an unique bond, spending time together on game days, attending Team IMPACT events together, and supporting one another on and off the ice. \u201cIt\u2019s been really good as a learning experience for Logan too,\u201d Sara added. \u201cThis year at the Beanpot, when our team and Simon\u2019s team were playing against each other, Logan was sad that we lost, but we were able to be like, \u2018It\u2019s really sad for us and it\u2019s really sad for our guys, but we can still be happy for Simon.\u2019 Even that in itself is another lesson to learn. If he didn\u2019t have that connection with Simon, or whoever we had been playing, if it had been Josh or Parker, I don\u2019t think he would understand it quite as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Simon, Parker, Logan, and Josh at the 2024 Beanpot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Parker, Simon, Josh, and Logan at the 2023 Beanpot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Months earlier, all four Beanpot teams came together for the first ever Team IMPACT Beanpot Ping Pong Tournament for some friendly competition and to raise awareness for Team IMPACT. This day stands out for Nick and Sara, not only because these teams, who are typically rivals on the ice, were bonding over their children, but because the room, mostly full of strangers, instantly felt like family.  \u201cThe minute that we stepped in that building, the kids saw each other and disappeared,\u201d Nick recalled. \u201cThey were lost in the sea of people, lost in the sea of hundreds of college hockey guys, people from Team IMPACT, parents; and none of us blinked an eye. None of us were concerned. To be able to do that around so many people says something about trust\u2014the trust that you build with your team, even other teams, you know that they\u2019re good people.<\/strong> You know that through this Team IMPACT connection, the goal is the same for every person in that building: It\u2019s for the kids. <\/strong>You know you don\u2019t have to think twice that if your kid\u2019s not in eyeshot, you don\u2019t have to panic, because you know they\u2019re safe. And that\u2019s something amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Logan and the 2024 Beanpot Ping Pong Champions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Logan and Ryan Irwin, Northeast Executive Direction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Logan and Rhett the Boston Terrier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Logan celebrates the 2024 Beanpot Ping Pong win<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This feeling of safety continues to expand into all the places Logan goes with his teammates. During home games at Agganis Arena, Logan is a celebrity. Players\u2019 parents, Agganis staff and security, BU students, even opposing teams, know Logan. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to feel comfortable to be able to be among so many people and enjoy that environment and let your kid enjoy that environment<\/strong>,\u201d Nick said. When Logan enters the arena, he is greeted with hellos, high-fives, and \u201cHey, that\u2019s Logan!\u201d from strangers and friends alike. He was recently stopped by BU alumni who wanted to say hello and make sure he got that game\u2019s Terrier chain giveaway in the parking lot after a game. He even charmed his way past security at the NCAA regionals last year. When Logan makes his way to the ice or locker room before or after a game, security knows, like all his teammates, Logan\u2019s part of the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n