IOWA CITY, Iowa — Twelve children have been selected to serve as 'Kid Captains' during Iowa Hawkeye football games, including four who come from the Quad Cities and southeastern Iowa area.
The Kid Captain program honors pediatric patients who have received treatment at the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital. The kids and their stories of perseverance are put in the spotlight during 12 Iowa Hawkeyes football games.
This year, 12 captains were selected from 245 nominations from Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska. Kids from the WQAD viewing area are from Eldridge, Davenport, Muscatine and Keokuk.
Hudson Ferris, 12, Eldridge
Hudson will be honored on Oct. 19 at Iowa at Michigan State.
At 9 years old, Hudson experienced frequent pain and extreme fatigue. After some initial testing, his local pediatrician referred the family to Stead Family Children’s Hospital where he was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma. Doctors found a 6 cm tumor on Hudson’s vertebrae, as well as cancer throughout his body. Initially, treatment meant five cycles of chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor. Then, doctors at the children’s hospital connected Hudson and his family to an out-of-state hospital where he underwent back-to-back stem cell transplants after undergoing more high-dose chemotherapy. Hudson would return to Iowa City to complete his treatment with Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Overall, Hudson spent 18 months in treatment. His cancer has been in remission for more than a year.
Lukas Hazen, 12, Muscatine
Lukas will be honored at the Iowa vs. Nebraska game on Nov. 29.
Lukas Hazen’s parents were warned their son might not survive childbirth after prenatal ultrasounds detected multiple brain bleeds. Born early at their local hospital at 34 weeks, Lukas was transferred to University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital. He was diagnosed with neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, a rare condition in which maternal-fetal platelet incompatibility leads to the mother’s body reacting to the pregnancy with antibodies, resulting in a low blood platelet count. Lukas was given double transfusions of platelets and blood and discharged five weeks later. His condition led to cerebral palsy, which affects his movement; cortical visual impairment, in which his brain cannot process what he sees; and serious seizures categorized as catastrophic infantile spasms. Lukas uses a wheelchair and assistive devices to help him communicate. He underwent hip reconstruction surgery and spinal fusion surgery to treat scoliosis, a sideways curvature of the spine, and regularly returns to Stead Family Children’s Hospital for checkups.
Raelyn Miller-Ramirez, 9, Davenport
Raelyn will be honored on Nov. 23 while Iowa plays at Maryland.
After Raelyn began to regularly lose her balance and an eye specialist detected an anomaly during a routine exam, the 6-year-old was diagnosed with medulloblastoma grade IV. This is a cancerous, fast-growing primary central nervous system tumor that begins in the brain or spinal cord. Still living in Oregon at the time, surgeons removed the tumor, but Raelyn lost her vision and developed posterior fossa syndrome and had to learn how to walk and talk again. After radiation treatment, Raelynn’s parents decided to move the family to Iowa and transfer her care to Stead Family Children’s Hospital, where Raelyn regularly sees specialists who have helped her learn to thrive. Regular scans have shown no cancer for four years.
Aiden Washburn, 8, Keokuk
Aiden will be honored at Iowa at Minnesota on Sept. 21.
Aiden’s care at Stead Family Children’s Hospital began before he was born. At 23 weeks gestation, Aiden was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect in which the left side of the heart—the side that pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body—severely underdeveloped. Within 24 hours of his birth, doctors took Aiden to his first open heart surgery. By the time he was a week old, Aiden would have a second surgery for his heart. Over the next 3 years, doctors would perform two additional surgeries on his heart with inpatient stays each time. Aiden is expected to need a heart transplant in the near future.
Find all the 2024 Kid Captains here.