Atlas Coleman experiences being a Child Captain for himself

When Stacy Coleman told her seven-year-old son Atlas that he had been selected for the 2024 Kid Captain roster, there was a celebration complete with “pure joy” and a victory dance.

“There aren’t a lot of fun things when you have cancer, so it was really nice to have something that was so exciting for him,” Coleman said.

Last fall, Atlas and his parents attended an Iowa football game at Kinnick Stadium, where they watched the Kid Captain celebration from the stands. On Saturday, Atlas and his parents will experience a full circle when they go out to play.

“When we showed Atlas the Kid Captain last year, he said, ‘I want to do that.’” Atlas’s father, Neal he recalled. “So here we are.”

Atlas said he is looking forward to everything on Saturday, but especially to seeing the players.

Kid captains have the opportunity to meet the Hawkeye football team during their annual Kids Day at Kinnick. During the open practice, the team signs autographs for kids, takes pictures, and gives honorary captains exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences.

Atlas admires the players as if they were a young athlete.

“I play football at recess,” Atlas said. “QB.”

In his free time he also likes to play his favorite sport, hockey.

But the path to becoming a healthy, sports-loving child was not easy, and it all started by coincidence.

When he was about 15 months old, Atlas was brought to the emergency room. The hospital staff suggested chest X-rays be done to investigate Stacy and Neal’s initial concerns. The tests came back with clear results for the Colemans’ previous concern, but instead created a new one.

“They found what we thought was a benign cyst in his lung,” Stacy said. “It’s a cyst that some children are born with.”

Local doctors suggested removal, but the Coleman family opted for a second opinion at Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the University of Iowa Health Care.

“When we met with the surgeon there, he made us feel super comfortable,” Stacy recalled.

Convinced this was the right path to recovery, the Colemans went ahead with the procedure and removed the lower left lobe of Atlas’ lung. Typically, this would require a few days of recovery in the hospital, but a routine biopsy found a pleuropulmonary blastoma, a rare, fast-growing cancer, in Atlas’ lung tissue.

“It was right before the holidays,” Neal said. “We thought it would be a normal Christmas.”

A few weeks later, Atlas underwent another surgery to place a chemotherapy port in his chest. He then began a six-month course of chemotherapy.

The family came once a week for various types of treatment. Sometimes Atlas had to spend the night in the hospital.

The treatment process was successful and Atlas has remained cancer-free for six years.

However, Atlas was also diagnosed with the DICER1 genetic mutation, which means he is vulnerable to developing other types of cancer over the course of his life. To manage this, Atlas is following a surveillance plan designed by his care team at Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

Atlas said every surveillance appointment starts the same way: staring at the fish tank on the first floor of the hospital.

“We always start at the bottom to take pictures so we can check out the fish to see who’s new,” Stacy said.

The care team performs a variety of tests, X-rays and scans to ensure Atlas is cancer-free.

Atlas will walk into Duke Slater Field with his cancer in remission for six years, greeting children who are going through their own journeys.

Stacy says she gets goosebumps just thinking about Wave tradition.

“It’s amazing to see everyone receiving so much love and sending it to those children who really need it.”