Gabriel Vicente used to get furious when she went into his room and grabbed his things. He did not like her touching any of his toys, neither that she stayed in his room to watch television. She knew how much this annoyed him, and as the little girl she was, she did it on purpose just to bother him. I remember with emotion and great nostalgia their fights, yells, laughs and tears...
Vanessa could not understand then how much her brother's life had impacted us. She was only 6 years old when Gabriel Vicente died. However, we are sure that she carries that experience very deep inside herself, and that this will influence the way she perceives life. Nowadays she does not talk much about what happened, because she knows how painful it is for us. She has seen us cry many times only by mentioning her brother's name. Someday she will understand the great dimension of his brother's life experience with her.
Gabriel Vicente had strong allies in our family, and he counted on them to obtain what we normally had restricted him at home. He discovered in his maternal grandmother Bubuta, as he used to call her, his great "pal". From the beginning, a very special relationship developed between them. Very often his grandmother overruled our authority and we could do nothing about it. For him, more than his grandmother she was his best friend. During his last days alive, she was dedicated to him in body and soul, never leaving his side.
His godmother, uncles and aunts also formed part of those allies or "pals" that he had at his service. He called them constantly to discuss any proposition that he had in mind. They used to pick him up on weekends to take him out to eat or to drive around. Gabriel Vicente
enjoyed a lot flying the remote control planes built by his uncle, and he often dreamt about being a pilot someday. He used to ask us if he would be able to become a pilot once he grew up, and our answer always was that he would be anything he wanted to be, as long as he was determined to reach it. Back then, his imagination ran free while fantasizing that he was actually flying a true airplane. He knew a lot about flying airplanes and enjoyed the risky situations, which he learned how to handle practicing many hours with the flight simulator game that he had in the computer. He shared his flight experiences with friends and relatives.
He also enjoyed playing with the pinball machines at the malls, where he did not mind to spend his money. He always had enough money since everybody gave some to him. He turned to be our own personal bank, and in many occasions we borrowed money from him to pay unexpected bills. These agreements were handled as loans, because he knew very well the exact amount we owed him.
Something he always enjoyed and encouraged was family reunions, specially on Sundays in his grandparents' house. He was the first one to participate in all the events, and often coordinated the acts prepared to entertain the family. On his own he called his cousins ahead of time to practice the performance, and to make sure everything was perfect the day of the presentation. We were delighted to see the happiness reflected on his face when he showed his abilities, either playing the flute or other instruments or performing magic tricks.
He loved music very much and used to share it with everybody. I remember one day when he recorded a whole tape with Michael Jackson's song "You are the world", once the song ended, he restarted recording it. Everyone in the house could sing that song by heart.
The family always represented an important factor in our son's development. Since the first day, when we learned at the hospital about Gabriel Vicente's sickness, our family turned toward us showing their support. Nobody could imagine then that he would be a very special child, who came to this world to bless our home and our family. At that time many thought that our situation was a punishment more than a blessing... 
Our family had to face a society which is not ready to offer equal opportunities to special children. Many times we encountered uncomfortable situations, when strangers made indiscreet comments without even realizing it. On those moments our family responded to defend our son. We did not allow anybody to hurt him or to say something inappropriate. He always had behind him a full army prepared to defend him. We grew closer every day, and thanks to that unity we were capable of facing the difficult challenge. We always avoided to be influenced or affected by other's commentaries, but in spite of all the good intentions, our family was not prepared to handle such a complex situation... 
The relationship between Gabriel Vicente and Vanessa was like any other one between brother and sister. They loved each other, played together and also fought. They solved puzzles, built "lego" structures, watched movies and played cards. His maturity allowed Gabriel Vicente to accept his sister from the first moment; on his own, he decided to share his kingdom with that "princess" who had arrived from heaven. Gabriel Vicente lived through the beautiful experience of sharing with his sister as the big brother. He was 5 years older and always tried to teach her what he had already learned.
The relationship with his father was unique. His dad always pleased him and gave him many presents. Every time his dad came back from a business trip, he arrived filled with gifts specially searched and selected for him. They often talked about sports and enjoyed watching sport programs on television. Their biggest joy was to follow the performance of their favorite baseball teams. In the Venezuelan professional league Gabriel Vicente was a fan of "Magallanes" and his dad of "Aguilas del Zulia". But they did agree in the USA professional baseball league team, both were fans of the Cleveland Indians.
He also liked to watch golf tournaments on television. It was a great satisfaction for him to be able to practice this sport. He had his own clubs and a bag, they were a present from his dad. He played with his father, grandfather, and uncles who pushed his wheelchair all over the golf court. He enjoyed those moments like any other child and always kept the scores. Once the game was over he could not wait to return to the club house for breakfast, where he was able to comment and celebrate his achievements with the family. On those occasions he used to eat eggs, bacon, sausages and all the food we had restricted him at home. 
Our relationship was special and different from the one with his dad. He knew how much he could obtain through me and what he must obtain trough others. I treated him with authority and demanded discipline, in order for him to learn that he should not manipulate me as he did with others. I was very strict and demanding but always in relation with his possibilities, and at the same time I offered him all my love, affection and support. He knew he could count on me to alleviate his pain, tell me about his feelings, discuss his worries, and to receive all the love we used to share. I used to expend long hours painting in my workshop and he gave me company. He celebrated my accomplishments and always offered his opinion about my projects. In many occasions he even received my clients. I then offered him a commission on the sales he could make, and he was fascinated with this idea. He helped me with my paintings, he did have talent and also found great satisfaction in this activity.
Gabriel Vicente's special affection for his stuffed animals started at a very young age, to the point that he baptized all of them with a name, carried them for rides in his walker and also during his trips. His stuffed friends were also present during his medical appointments and hospitalizations. From all of them he identified himself in a special way with "Alvin", with whom he developed an innocent friendship and it was considered as a family member. One day he asked me to paint Alvin and with pride, he hanged the picture on his bedroom wall. As he once described in one of his stories, Alvin was his friend. When the door of his room was closed and the fear invaded his mind, Alvin gained life and accompanied him through the sad nights. Alvin was also buried with Gabriel Vicente that morning on April 21 of 1997.
Gabriel Vicente was the center of attention in our big family. He was lucky to count with a family like ours. Nowadays we all feel very proud of him, and thankful to God for sending us a child so special, spontaneous and joyful who came to bless us. He encouraged the union and the will to help between the members of the family. Gabriel Vicente's happiness would not have been possible, without the solidarity of every person who helped us along those long and difficult years.
Gabriel Vicente always felt a great sense of security and support in his family. When faced to the situation for the first time, most people were afraid to handled him, but with time they learned to manipulate him as well as we did. They knew how to grab him without causing pain due to his injuries, learned how to fold and carry his wheelchair, how to go up and downstairs, in summary, everyone was willing to help. This attitude from the family members allowed our son to grow in a very stable environment. He learned to tolerate the looks of amazement and the indiscreet questions that in many occasions he had to face. He always knew what to say on those situations. Nobody in the family felt ashamed to introduce him neither hesitated to take him anywhere because of his condition. On the contrary, each one of us felt a deep emotion when Gabriel Vicente was at our side. If we met someone, he was introduced with the greatest pride as the honorary member of our family. He made possible for our family to be different from other families and made us special...