MOBRIDGE, SD (KFYR) – Good friends are a gift.

We all need a friend who is there for us through everything: the good, the bad, and everything in between.

We have a special friendship with Mobridge that has been growing for over a decade. The bond between these two friends can teach us all about the importance of friendship and acceptance.

Nehemiah Bauer loves his swing in the backyard, the Green Bay Packers and his friend Jameson Ford. Photos of the two show how long they have been friends. It all started when they were in first grade.

“I know he came to my birthday party,” recalls Ford, who is now 20 but remembers that birthday party like it was yesterday.

“Jameson’s birthday party is the only birthday party Nehemiah has ever been invited to,” said Nehemiah’s mother, Alana Bauer.

But this one invitation was enough to establish a lifelong friendship.

“I couldn’t ask for a better friend,” Ford said.

Over the years, these friends have enjoyed many birthdays, school visits and proms.

“It’s just nice to be able to help him do all the things we all did in high school so he doesn’t feel left out,” Ford said.

Because for a child like Nehemiah, there is a real danger of feeling excluded.

“Nehemiah was diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis at three months of age,” Alana explained.

It is a rare genetic disorder that causes the growth of benign tumors on Nehemiah’s vital organs, including his heart, kidneys and brain.

“The brain is most affected, causing daily attacks that we cannot control,” she said.

Despite these daily attacks, Nehemiah’s parents know they are lucky.

“It could be a lot worse. I mean, really. Physically, he can run, jump and play,” said his father, Nate Bauer.

Ford has been by his side the whole time. Now that he’s in college, he makes it a point to check in with him whenever he’s home.

“It’s real,” Nate said.

For Nehemiah’s parents, these visits are always a highlight and a reminder that most people are good.

“Everyone wants a friend,” Alana said. “And to have someone who wants to be friends with someone who can’t offer them anything. Nehemiah doesn’t talk. Nehemiah doesn’t light up when Jamison walks into the room. He doesn’t offer him anything, and yet he still makes a point to come by.”

They hope that others will take this lesson to heart.

“Just accept them as they are,” Alana said.

Nehemiah’s parents say that even though he doesn’t speak or show emotion, they can tell that their son is genuinely happy about Jameson’s visit. They say they can see it in his eyes. That, they say, is a testament to the power of friendship.

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