To his friends and family, 15-year-old Sam Spore is known as a prankster.

He loves to laugh, joke with his teachers, and get in tickle matches with his siblings.

But most of all, Sam loves to smile; family members say it’s hard to find Sam without one.

“He really enjoys telling me jokes or funny things that happened at school,” said his oldest sister, Hallie Spore, 18. “One way Sam and I communicate a lot is just through joking around … That’s how he relates to me.”

Sam is this week’s Kid Captain for the game against North Texas. For each football game, the program, which started in 2008, honors a child undergoing treatment at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Honorees must apply for the program, which gives the families access to the sidelines for home games, a meeting with the football team, and public recognition.

Sam is one of eight children in the Spore family. Four were adopted, like him, and four are biological children to parents Heidi and Chad.

When Heidi and Chad both first met Sam at his adoption center in Uganda in 2011, they were there for two other children in need of a home, Caleb and Hannah.

They went home to Dysart, Iowa, with the two additions to their family, but always kept their hearts and thoughts with Sam, Heidi said.

Sam was born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid builds up on his brain. As an infant, a shunt was placed in his head to drain the fluid to other parts of his body. Today, that procedure is still being monitored.

Sam was also born with spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the growth of spinal vertebra. Sam experiences paralysis at his Thoracic 10 vertebrae and everything below, making him wheelchair-bound permanently.

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Seeing Sam in a wheelchair at the adoption center made Heidi and Chad realize how limited the opportunities were in Uganda for people with disabilities.

At first, while still adjusting to the adoption of two others, Chad and Heidi advocated for Sam to other families.

In 2013, the Spores realized they could be that family for Sam.

They met with a doctor from The Center for Disabilities and Development at the Children’s Hospital to learn about any adaptations and needs for a person with spina bifida may have.

“It was exciting to talk to the doctor there, because she gave us a very optimistic view,” Heidi said. “She said that kids with spina bifida can live a healthy and happy life. And that he would definitely need medical care, but we live, relatively speaking, very close to a world renowned hospital.”

After many months of petitioning the U.S. government, waiting for the Ugandan government to approve the adoption, and waiting for Sam’s passport, the family flew Sam to Iowa in February 2015.

“I think we all knew it would be challenging, because of his disabilities,” Hallie said. “Like we were going to have to make some modifications to the house, and there would be some things we’d have to adjust to, but really, adjustment has become the norm in our house. So we were all really excited to do that if it meant having him as part of our family.”

Complications with his health, and Sam’s relationship with the Children’s Hospital, started just 10 days after he arrived in Iowa.

Just before Sam left Uganda to fly home, his wheelchair flipped over a curb. His leg began swelling a few days after, and he learned he had a femoral fracture and a blood clot, likely worsened by sitting on a long flight after the incident.

He began his care with the Children’s Hospital, which is about 60 miles from Dysart, and has since been under their care. In 2013, he had a surgery that helped him become more independent with his bowel functions, and in 2016, he had a surgery that helped him become more independent with bladder management.

Even throughout hospital visits and long drives to Iowa City, Sam keeps a smile, Heidi said.

This Saturday’s football game in Kinnick against North Texas will be Sam’s first time at a college football game. Being a Kid Captain makes him “so happy,” he said, and he’s looking forward to seeing a full house at Kinnick.

“I’m looking forward to a lot of people [in the stands] to see how loud they can go,” he said.

Being a Kid Captain is a way of being a spokesperson for other kids in his situation, Hallie said. Sam was given trading cards as part of the Kid Captain program, with his photo and stats on it. He shares his card with friends and family because he is excited about the opportunity.