Drew was born without a functioning right ventricle--which basically means he was born with half of a heart. The doctors found that Drew's heart had a total of twenty defects. By God's mercy, ten of the defects compensated for the other ten. He experienced heart failure at just six weeks old. The Nilsen's had three options at that time. They could take him home from the hospital and wait for him to die, they could wait for a heart transplant which would be unlikely to happen in time, or they could begin a series of reconstructive surgeries that could possibly save his life. Of course, the Nilsen's opted to try everything the doctors had available to try and save his life. The doctors told the Nilsens that if Drew survived, he would be a very frail, small boy. Drew's big and strong stature is only one of many odds he has defied.

Drew has undergone a total of five surgeries; four of them open-heart. His last surgery, in the fall of 2000, was to replace his own leaking valve with a mechanical valve. The doctors told the Nilsens that this was to be the last surgery his heart would be able to withstand. They told them that the next step would be a heart transplant.

On Wednesday, November 20, 2002, Drew began experiencing abdominal pain and a decline in circulation to his lower extremities. Upon being admitted to UCLA Medical Center, it was determined that Drew was likely experiencing heart failure. For the first week, the doctors treated Drew with a blood thinning medication to keep his heart pumping while they ran tests to determine whether or not he would be a candidate for a heart transplant. On Thanksgiving morning, November 28, 2002, Drew went into full cardiac arrest. Miraculously, after 45 minutes of CPR, God spared his life once again. He has proven time and time again to be a fighter.

In the early morning of Monday, December 16, 2002, Drew met Jesus face to face. He fought the good fight, he finished the course, he kept the faith; and he recieved his crown of righteousness.