One goodbye. That’s all Jayme Hazen wanted. Minutes after giving birth to Lukas, her son would be airlifted 40 miles away to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. 

Doctors had told her to expect the worst during her pregnancy, and once the helicopter took off with Lukas onboard, the odds of survival weren’t in his favor. 

“We didn’t know if I would see him alive again,” Jayme said. “So [the air care team] was so kind, they brought him in, let me say goodbye to him, let me tell him I love him, just in case I never got to say that again.” 

The next morning, Jayme and her husband made the hour-drive from their hometown Muscatine, Iowa, to Iowa City.

Once they arrived, Dr. John Dagle of UIHC had more disheartening news: Lukas had severe brain damage, and his care team needed to know how much intervention they should provide in what would be an uphill effort. 

“Josh and I both agreed that if Luke fought this hard to survive, we wanted them to fight right along with him,” Jayme said. “And from that moment on, they never looked back. They did everything they could to make sure he survived.” 

Before Lukas, Jayme had had four miscarriages, but 12 years later, she is proud to call Lukas not just her son but also an older brother to two adoring younger siblings and the Kid Captain for Iowa football’s game against Nebraska. 

Aside from supporting Lukas, the family also paid tribute to UIHC – a place that saved Lukas’ life and provided Jayme a family. 

“I don’t know how you say, ‘Thank you,’ to them because literally every member of my family has been [to] their hospital,” Jayme said. “It’s been pretty amazing.” 

When Jayme had ultrasounds of Lukas during her pregnancy, local doctors detected multiple brain bleeds. 

Born premature at 34 weeks, UIHC doctors diagnosed Lukas with neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, a rare condition in which the mother’s body reacts to the pregnancy with antibodies, resulting in a low blood platelet count. Platelets are colorless blood cells that help blood clot and stop the bleeding in blood vessel injuries, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

As part of his treatment, Lukas received double transfusions of platelets and blood and was discharged after five weeks. His condition later led to a cerebral palsy diagnosis at around two years old, Jayme said. As a result, Lukas relies on a wheelchair for transportation and an eye gaze device for communication. In addition, he suffers from cortical vision impairment and serious seizures. 

In 2023, Lukas had spinal infusion surgery for his scoliosis and, before that, two hip reconstruction surgeries. He still visits UIHC regularly for appointments about his back, hips, and seizures. 

When he’s not in the hospital, Lukas loves to spend time outdoors – swimming, fishing, and camping with his family are some of his favorite activities. 

“He is the happiest kid,” Jayme said. “He has the most genuine smile you will ever see.” 

A sixth-grader, Lukas attends school in Muscatine, splitting his time between general and special education classes. 

Jayme said he loves to be around his peers, and his eye gazing device allows him to greet others, ask how they are doing, answer yes or no, tell if something hurts, and more. 

“It’s still kind of in the primitive stages, but he’s making leaps and bounds with that, which is awesome,” Jayme said. 

Through physical therapy, Lukas has developed skills such as learning to use a cup and straw. Assisted by a treadmill and harness, he practices walking. 

“He’s worked really hard over the past couple of years to regain some of the skills that he had and to learn new skills,” Jayme said. 

Another one of Lukas’ pastimes is to attend his siblings’ sports games as the “ultimate cheerleader,” according to Jayme. His sister Raylee and brother Keagyn were each born prematurely inside the NICU. 

After years of not being successful with pregnancies, Jayme said UIHC provided treatment for her to have more children. This involved large doses of steroids and six-hour-long sessions of intravenous immunoglobulin infusions. 

“They treat you like a family,” Jayme said of UIHC. “They include you versus just a patient number.”

After waving alongside 70,000-plus fans to UIHC from the field on Nov. 29, Jayme hopes her son can provide inspiration to others. 

“Hopefully, he can encourage some of the kids that are in [the hospital],” she said.