IOWA CITY -- A child from Clear Lake was selected to serve as Iowa's Kid Captain for Saturday's football game.
Adeline Lovell, a 6-year old with leukemia, will be alongside the Hawkeyes for their game against Northwestern.
"Really glad to have her with us, and happy to have her join us," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said on Tuesday.
The Kid Captain program started in 2009 as a partnership between the Hawkeyes and University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital as a way to honor pediatric patients.
Adeline's journey began when she was 4 years old, according to a press release from the University of Iowa Health Center. Her parents, Chris and Morgan Lovell, noticed her acting differently during a Fourth of July party in Clear Lake.
"She typically goes 100 miles an hour," Chris said. "But, she took a nap in the middle of the day."
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After the party, Chris and Morgan discovered what appeared to be a rash on Adeline's back. Morgan consulted Dr. Kristin Avery, Adeline's pediatrician and a lifelong friend of Morgan's, regarding the discovery.
Avery, who completed her residency at UIHC Stead Family Children's Hospital, suspected the rash to be petechiae, pinpoint-sized dots which develop under the skin of someone with leukemia. Tests confirmed the probability of leukemia.
Upon Avery's recommendation, the Lovells took Adeline to the children's hospital, where she received an official diagnosis of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which the press release describes as "an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow."
"Chronic leukemia is something that takes place over time," Chris Lovell said. "High-risk acute leukemia is very fast acting. If you do not address it, it will kill the patient quickly. Time is of the essence."
Pediatric hematologist/oncologist Dr. Jessica Zimmerman became Adeline's oncologist at the children's hospital.
Due to the urgency of Adeline's condition, she started chemotherapy immediately, but experienced an anaphylactic reaction to the treatment. The severe reaction caused her airway to become constricted.
"It happened pretty fast," Morgan Lovell said. "She started gasping for breath and started to swell really big. Everyone came running."
"The amazing nursing staff saved her life," Chris said. "But it meant she couldn't have that particular chemo in the future."
Adeline was switched to a new alternative treatment, which required a series of shots in the leg.
During her stay at the children's hospital, Adeline got the opportunity to welcome the Iowa women's basketball team home after the 2023 NCAA women's basketball tournament. During the festivities, former Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark fist-bumped Adeline and her younger brother, Charles.
Two years since her original diagnosis, Adeline's cancer is considered in remission with treatment scheduled to end in November.
Adeline dreams of becoming a Hawkeye cheerleader.
"We don't want her defined by cancer for the rest of her life, but it absolutely is part of her story," her father said.
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