A Michigan boy can meet his heroes after having his legs amputated

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It wasn’t long ago that Kaden Stevenson was in the hospital fighting for his life. Around Christmas, the flu and strep caused an infection that spread to Cayden’s blood. He lost both legs in the recovery process, but now he finished rehabKaden can call himself a survivor.

It’s time to celebrate, and Kaden got a one-of-a-kind party on Friday night.

It was nearly an hour before fans at Van Andel Arena saw anything of the Monster Jam Trucks Taking to the dirt, Kaden was already checking out the giant cars and rubbing shoulders with their drivers.

Kaden got an exclusive meeting with the drivers. Weston Anderson was there with the world famous Grave Digger. Bernard Light showed the Megalodon. Armando Castro, the driver of El Toro Loco, was also there. And the drivers seemed as happy to see Kaden as he was them.

“He’s got the kindest heart. He’s always told us he doesn’t have a favorite. He’ll root for all of us. It just shows he’s such a loving person,” said Lynsey Reed, Scooby Doo driver.

“We really want to do everything we can tonight to show him that we really care, that he’s here, that he’s out there and that he’s fighting.”

Cayden’s mother Michele described the trip to Monster Jam as a dream come true for her son.

“We’ve been here before, but the experience we had tonight is completely different than before to be able to meet the monster truck drivers and get up close and personal with the truck. That kind of one-on-one attention for him made my heart smile,” she said.

With the biggest battle of his life behind him, Cayden can now focus on his dream of one day becoming a monster truck driver himself.

“He’s not going to back down from what he wants to do,” Michele said.

“It’s the most important thing for me as a mother that he knows everything we’ve done before, whether it’s football, karate or monster trucks. He still has the ability to do that.”

Got some positive news to share? Email us your ideas at OneGoodThing@13OnYourSide.com.

►Stay tuned for more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app.

Got a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.comvisit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.