Derek DiGregorio h12

The pre-graduation party was in full swing, and the most recent addition to the Princeton University Class of 2012 sat right in the middle of it.

He certainly looked the part, what with his orange and black Tiger bow tie perfectly tied and his white class jacket over his khaki pants.

He smiled, beaming as everyone came up to him to say congratulations.

At various times on his lap he held a dog, a tiny dog, a miniature beagle puppy, and he listened as the hostess for the party talked about his lifelong goal of becoming a veterinarian.

It was, as you would expect from a party celebrating being part of any Princeton commencement, a very happy occasion. And an inspiring one.

All because of the graduate himself.

Derek DiGregorio sat in his wheelchair throughout the party. When TigerBlog shook his hand, he had to reach down and grab it for him, though Derek's return grip was firm.

Movements that everyone else in the room could take for granted are difficult or impossible for Derek, who is less than two months from his 15th birthday.

Diagnosed at an early age with cerebral palsey, Derek and his family instead found out that he had ataxia telangiectasia, a disease that attacks the entire body and ultimately causes the immune system to fail. The mortality rate is 100%, and life expectancy past 20 is rare.

There are approximately 600 cases total in the United States.

Derek's father Steve - known to most simply as Digger - is a former assistant football coach at Princeton. One of his former players, Brian Danielewicz, read about Derek's situation and wanted to do something to help him, and so he began the process of making Derek an honorary member of this class.

Manny Sardinha of the men's soccer team (and men's volleyball team for a little while) was at the party. He wrote his junior paper on A-T and also held a fundraiser this past year.

TigerBlog has known Digger and his wife Nadia since before they were married, let alone since their three children were born. He has watched them through this difficult process and wondered how they do it, how they stay so strong and so positive and so defiant.

Certainly they have a great support system, including former men's basketball player and assistant coach Howard Levy and his family and women's basketball academic-athletic fellow Jess Deutsch and her family, including her husband Ted, a baseball player here from the Class of 1991.

And yes, TB assumes, there have to be moments where it just overwhelms the DiGregorios, though maybe there aren't.

Certainly yesterday wasn't one of those, if they exist.

Nope, yesterday was another triumph for the DiGregorios and for Derek.

That's the word. Triumph.

This wasn't a time to think about the long odds that Derek faces or the unfairness of a 14-year-old who has been put into this situation.

This was a time to admire them, but not because of anything extraordinary that they've done - even though they've done plenty of extraordinary things while fighting this disease.

They've put together "Derek's Dreams," an organization that has raised money and attempted to raise the public consciousness for a disease few had ever heard of before. They have galvanized multiple communities in their fight, through Princeton athletics, Nutley High School (where Digger teaches and has coached football), alums, friends, anyone.

Yesterday wasn't about that, though.

Yesterday was about another family with a member of the Princeton Class of 2012 and how proud they were of him. It was about the class jacket and the good wishes and the hopes for the future.

In this way, they were no different than the hundreds of other families who were gathered for Class Day.

And it was hardly an ordinary day. Derek had a chance to meet actor Steve Carell, both during the ceremony at which Carell was the featured speaker and then later on, when he got his picture taken with him and assorted other DiGregorios, Levys and Deutschs.

And of course there was the party. As with everything these people do, their sense of devotion to each other and everyone in the room was obvious.

TigerBlog congratulates Derek on being part of the Class of 2012, and he's happy for the rest of the DiGregorio family.

Most days, TB is just in awe of all of them.

Yesterday, he was again, but for a different reason, because they were all about having fun.

One day at a time, right? Yesterday was fun for them. Today, TB suspects, is as well.

Tomorrow?

The forecast is ominous, but the DiGregorios and their army of supporters won't be stopped easily.