With a smile on his face, Drew Steffen will step onto the turf to make his Hawkeye début under the Kinnick Stadium lights Saturday night.

The 10-year-old was born with the right ventricle of his heart missing, but his mom, Elly Steffen, said this doesn’t slow the “energetic young boy” down.

“Even though he has half a heart, he is certainly not losing half a life,” she said. “He is living 100 percent full out on the go. He has defied many odds throughout his life and continues to defy them.”

Drew is the Kid Captain for the Penn State game this weekend. The Kid Captain program is a partnership between the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital and the football team in 2009 to celebrate the stories of current and former Children’s Hospital pediatric patients.

When he was 8 days old, Drew was airlifted to Iowa City for treatment after a call was made to the hospital’s pediatric cardiology team. He was diagnosed with single ventricle disease, a form of congenital heart disease, and he has a three-chambered heart. Drew has a narrow aortic arch and transposed vessels, and his body has had to accommodate to different things as a result.

At 11 days old, Drew had his first surgery. He had a second surgery at 6 months old and a third before turning 4.

While being hospitalized, part of what helped Drew, Steffen said, was his care team — the surgeon, pediatric cardiology team, and child-life team — who helped him to relax and be a kid as he received treatment. Even Herky the Hawkeye stopped by for a visit.

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Since then, Drew has not been hospitalized, Steffen said, but he continues to visit the hospital for checkups regularly.

Although he has to make some adjustments to his daily life and has to take things slower than others might, Steffen said Drew’s disease has taught her the importance of making accommodations for others and not taking life for granted.

“You just never know when the blessings we’re given in life to be able to treasure them and not take them for granted,” she said. “It’s also taught us that life is so much bigger than we are.”

Seeing Drew’s response to the experience — the crowd reaction, meeting the team, and being on the field — is the best part of it as a parent, said his father, Brad Steffen.

“Just seeing how Drew reacts for the day should be an enjoyable time,” Brad said. “… He’ll probably be a little shy at first, but once he settles in, he’ll be just fine. He’ll enjoy it all; he’ll have a really good time with it; he’ll have a lot of smiles.”

What is Drew most excited about? “Going on the field and representing the Children’s Hospital,” he said. This Saturday will be his first time experiencing the Hawkeyes battle it out on their home turf.

Representing those with congenital heart disease and the Children’s Hospital patients is what ultimately makes the Kid Captain program so special, Elly Steffen said.