Already a well-known young man around the Carroll area, Kellan Tigges is going to be getting some time in the spotlight on a pretty big stage this coming Saturday, Oct. 13. Kellan has been selected to be the Iowa State University (ISU) Kid’s Captain for the ISU/West Virginia game. His parents, Pat and Alie Tigges, will be with Kellan at 6 p.m. as he joins the team captains for the coin toss at centerfield of Jack Trice Stadium. Alie says the focus will be on Kellan for quite some time prior to that as well.
The Tigges say that on a day-to-day basis, they can’t help but wonder if Kellan is looking at other children his age, thinking to himself that he wishes he could be doing the things they are. Pat says this is one of those instances of something other kids may not get to do, but Kellan does.
There are large number of people from the Carroll area who have contacted the Tigges, saying they are coming to the game. Alie says family members from Denver, Colo. are also making a trip along with friends from northwest Iowa and other areas of the state. But it is not always just those that personally know the Tigges that are moved by the story of this incredibly happy young man. Pat says he is still touched when people they don’t know thank them for the work they have done on Kellan’s Kingdom, the area’s first all-inclusive playground.
He says they have to thank the Iowa State Cyclones and Blank Children’s Hospital. It is programs like this one and the wave at the University of Iowa that really means something to these kids.
The Kid’s Captain Program is administered through Blank Children’s Hospital. Any child who has had treatments or stayed at their facility is eligible to submit an entry for consideration. Kellan was chosen and the family was notified prior to the football season of this honor for the game this weekend.
