Through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, 8-year-old Aiden Washburn wished for two things: a trip to Disneyland and to be an Iowa Hawkeye Kid Captain.
On Saturday, the latter will be fulfilled.
“It was something he said he wanted to do, but we didn’t get our hopes up because there are lots of applicants,” Aiden’s mother Josie Washburn said. “When we got that call, we were both very shocked and surprised.”
The last time Aiden and his family cheered on the Hawkeye football team in person was back in 2022 at the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee.
“He’s never been to a game at Kinnick [Stadium], though,” Josie said. “This year will be his first.”
Although he’s never experienced it from Kinnick Stadium, Aiden said his favorite part of Iowa home football games is the Wave.
Josie agreed, mentioning the Wave tradition reminds her of the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
“[The Wave] is a wonderful thing for these kids and families who are going through so much,” Josie said. “When you see 70,000 people waving up at you, it feels like they are a part of your village.”
Eight years ago, Josie and her husband Ryan experienced a village coming together when they learned of their yet-to-be-born son’s hypoplastic left heart syndrome diagnosis.
In the first three years of his life, Aiden underwent four heart surgeries. The first occurred within the first 24 hours of his birth. The procedures aimed to help the underdeveloped left side of his heart pump blood to his body correctly.
“The goal of these surgeries is to just reroute the blood in the body in the way that allows two chambers of the heart to do the job of all four,” said Ben Reinking, Aiden’s cardiologist at Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital. “It works really well for kids for a period of time, but there are some long-term issues that can develop.”
Reinking said Aiden has developed a few of those complications but is handling them through medication and treatments. Eventually, Aiden will need a heart transplant.
“It’s a lot for kids to go through,” Reinking said. “But we still expect Aiden to grow up and thrive and live the same sort of life that every other kid does.”
Aiden’s come to love football, swimming, and golf. He has earned the title of “the best big brother in the world” to his two-year-old brother.
Josie said Aiden has taken his brother under his wing, teaching him how to play different sports and helping him learn his letters and numbers.
“It goes to show there is light at the end of the tunnel,” she added.
Becoming a Kid Captain has been a dream come true for Aiden. His family has enjoyed the community aspect of the program, where Aiden can share his story and inspire others. Josie said people with Aiden’s diagnosis have reached out.
“We’ve been able to talk with them and might be meeting them in person soon.”