MakaylaBell

A Pella third-grader will be featured as the first kid captain of the 2015 Iowa Hawkeyes football season on Saturday.

Makayla Bell, 8, will be welcomed at Kinnick Stadium when Iowa plays Illinois State at 11 a.m. Bell was diagnosed with the very rare OIES syndrome, which stands for four different birth defects.

OEIS stands for the four different birth defects present in those who have the syndrome: omphalocele; exstrophy of the bladder and bowel, where the bladder is in two halves outside of the body and the bowel is outside the body, as well, but not in the same external pouch as the other organs; an imperforated anus; and spinal bifida.

Makayla’s treatment required a team of 14 different UI Children’s Hospital specialists, and she has undergone 14 major surgeries since she was five days old.