Hawkeye fans will see Children’s Hospital taking shape

IOWA CITY — Treytun Garcia ideally would never see the inside of the new University of Iowa Children's Hospital.

In a more perfect world, the 12-year-old Ottumwa boy would simply take in its enormity while passing by on his way to this morning's Hawkeye season opener — as do the other 70,000-plus fans heading to the game in adjacent Kinnick Stadium.

But because Treytun has been battling an autoimmune disease that last year took his left leg, he likely will spend some time in the $292 million facility once it opens in the spring of 2016. Leah Zwer said she's hopeful his visits will be kept brief — simple checkups.

'There is no cure for it,' Zwer said. 'But right now it's in remission. He's been off medicine for a year.'

Treytun is among 15 UI Children's Hospital patients who will be honored this season as 'kid captains' for the UI Hawkeye football squad. Treytun was chosen as captain for today's game, and his mom said it's a big deal for a boy who once dreamed of playing football himself.

'He's on his countdown — it's one more day until we leave,' Zwer told The Gazette earlier this week. 'I know he likes football and wanted to play and knows he can't play football now.'

But Treytun has a new dream.

'For years he's been telling us he's going to college to be an engineer,' Zwer said. 'But now he's telling us he's going to college to make prosthetics.'

'I didn't hide stuff from him'

Seven years ago, while they were living in Storm Lake, Zwer said she noticed something was amiss when her son was 4 and developed a rash on his left foot. She took him to a local physician and was referred to a rheumatologist in Omaha.

Treytun was diagnosed with linear scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that causes hardening of the skin and connective tissues.

Physicians initially didn't think the case was severe. But — as Zwer watched the rash move up Treytun's left leg — she wasn't convinced and wanted more answers. She came to Iowa City not long after the diagnosis, and UI Children's Hospital doctors began trying various combinations of medicines to control the disease.

The drugs had little effect, and Zwer said her son's skin became so tight around his left foot that it started to turn outward, making it hard for him to walk.

'I had never seen anything like it before until he had it,' she said. 'When he stood up you could see where it was eating away at his muscles.'

Treytun had surgery to remove damaged tissue and replace it with healthy tissue from his right thigh. But the disease persisted, his left leg and muscles stopped growing, and Zwer said Treytun was in a lot of pain and had little cushion to protect his foot from the ground.

'It hurt a lot,' she said. 'He was basically walking on the bone. He was dragging his foot around because he couldn't bend his ankle.'

Only one medicine seemed to slow its progression — and Zwer said she couldn't afford it because it wasn't covered under her insurance. So doctors presented the options to Treytun.

'He always knew what was going on,' Zwer said. 'I didn't hide stuff from him.'

At age 11, Treytun was given the choice between multiple smaller surgeries to replace the tissue — such as the operation he already had — and amputation below the knee.

'He decided that he wanted the amputation done,' Zwer said. 'He didn't want to go through surgery after surgery with the chance of it not working. He was sick of being in pain and not being able to do anything.'

His surgery took place in October of last year, and the recovery was long — he had to miss school for months and receive tutoring at home. He received his prosthetic in December and now wears it all day.

'He's a lot happier,' Zwer said.

The disease appears to be dormant. There are signs of it up past his hip, Zwer said, but it doesn't seem to doing any damage. He goes to UI Children's Hospital every six months for monitoring.

And on days such as today — when Treytun gets to celebrate and be celebrated among his role models — it's easier, Zwer said.

'He likes his Hawkeyes. Even his prosthetic is Hawkeye' — decorated as it is in black and gold and a tiger Hawk logo, she added.

'It will be very obvious'

The 14-story UI Children's Hospital new structure, including two underground levels, not only will include expansive specialty clinics, state-of-the-art technology, and more space for additional specialists, it will include indoor and outdoor play areas.

The hospital also comes with a premier view of the field in Kinnick Stadium, and crews are building a child's press box on an upper level.

When fans arrive to Kinnick Stadium on Saturday morning for the first home Hawkeye football game of the season, they will see the building's exterior starting to take shape and the shell of all 12 aboveground stories. Concrete is being poured on the ninth floor, a process that takes three to four weeks per floor.

In the underground floors, crews are installing walls and mechanical systems and doing some electrical work on the lower levels, said Jay Goodin, UI director of project management.

Despite a harsh winter and a wet spring, construction and associated costs are on track, with the building scheduled for completion in spring 2016. Following a few months of transition, the first patients will start coming through the door in late spring or early summer of that year, said Scott Turner, UI Children's Hospital executive director.

As this football season progresses, so will visible progress on the 480,000 square feet of new construction.

'By the end of this football season, it will be very obvious there's a new children's hospital next door,' Turner said.