Michele Stevenson never imagined she would see her seven-year-old son lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines, barely clinging to life. But in 2022, that unforeseen nightmare became reality.
In December 2022, Michele’s son, Kaden Steveson, was home from Brendel Elementary School in Grand Blanc, Mich., for Christmas break when he began to feel ill. At first, Michele thought it was a stomach bug, but his condition quickly worsened.
Days later, Michele noticed something was wrong. Kaden could no longer walk and complained of pain in his legs.
“I couldn’t get his coat or shoes on him because he was in so much pain,” Michele said. “I wrapped him up in a blanket, put him in the front seat, so I could keep an eye on him, and then I noticed his face looked swollen, and he had a rash all over his body.”
Kaden was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Mich., where medical professionals ran blood tests and found that his illness was very serious.
“Once they started running tests on him, the doctor came back with the most serious look I’ve ever seen a doctor give me,” Michele said. “My brain didn’t wrap around … how sick he was.”
Kaden was diagnosed with the flu and airlifted to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he was referred to an orthopedic surgeon for severe swelling in his legs.
“That’s kind of when things started sinking in,” Michele said. “I didn’t know at the time my baby was dying.”
When Kaden arrived at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, he was accompanied by his mother and grandmother, Teresa Stevenson. Kaden was immediately intubated and diagnosed with Influenza type A and necrotizing streptococcal infection, where the infection entered his bloodstream, causing him to have toxic shock, which caused heart, kidney and liver failure. Doctors did not expect him to survive the night.
“I just remember whispering to him like ‘Don’t give up, keep fighting,’” Michele said.
Kaden spent two weeks in intensive care, where doctors told his family that his legs would need to be amputated. His right leg was amputated above the knee, while his left was amputated below the knee.
He was then transferred to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., to undergo rehabilitation, where he continues weekly treatment.
As Kaden lay in the hospital bed, his family’s world unraveled. During his hospitalization, his grandmother, Teresa, was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer, and his father, Jerald Carter, died.
“I went to a cancer specialist, and he said he didn’t see cancer, so he sent me to a back specialist, who said he didn’t see cancer and that it was just a fractured spine,” Teresa said. “When the surgeon did my surgery, he said there was a mass that was crushing my spine, and that was cancer.”
Teresa currently lives with her daughter, Michele, and her grandson, Kaden. Michele moved back to Michigan from North Carolina in 2014 to support her mother after the death of her father, Leroy Stevenson.
“She was living in North Carolina, and she knew I was having a hard time because me and my husband did everything together,” Teresa said. “When he died, I was alone.”
Teresa had undergone radiation and chemotherapy and now has pulmonary hypertension, requiring her to have 24/7 oxygen.
After Kaden’s hospitalization, his family was contacted by Families Fighting Flu, a nonprofit organization that works to raise awareness about influenza and promote vaccination of people six months and older to reduce flu-related hospitalizations.
“They reach out to families who have had experience with flu … so we just share our stories with them,” Michele said.
Michele is now a board member of Families Fighting Flu. In 2025, the organization published a comic book, “Kaden Blaze Fights Flu Bug,” inspired by his story.
In 2023, Michele needed help modifying a toy car for Kaden’s birthday. She posted on Facebook seeking help, and a graduate student majoring in occupational therapy saw the post and reached out to Donna Case, a lecturer in occupational therapy at the University of Michigan-Flint.
Case then reached out to E Shirl Donaldson, assistant professor of the College of Innovation and Technology at UM-Flint. Donaldson contacted Thiago Ferreira, also an assistant professor of the College of Innovation and Technology at UM-Flint, who is the faculty advisor for the Innovators & Makers Club, to see if the group could modify the toy car for Kaden. Five to six students volunteered to take on the project.
That same year, the College of Innovation and Technology at UM-Flint collaborated with the Occupational Therapy Department to launch Play Beyond Boundaries, a program in which students and faculty create accessible toy cars for children with disabilities.
“The project started as Kaden’s car, and then it went to Play Beyond Boundaries,” Donaldson said. “He is the motivation for that.”
E Shirl Donaldson and Donna Case working with students at Play Beyond Boundaries, in the William S. White Building in Flint, Mich., Photo taken by Rylie Yeiter/MTimes 
Students working on a toy car at Play Beyond Boundaries, in the William S. White Building in Flint, Mich., Photo taken by Rylie Yeiter/MTimes 
E Shirl Donaldson working with students at Play Beyond Boundaries, in the William S. White Building in Flint, Mich., Photo taken by Rylie Yeiter/MTimes 
Students working on a toy car at Play Beyond Boundaries, in the William S. White Building in Flint, Mich., Photo taken by Rylie Yeiter/MTimes
The adapted toy car not only gave Kaden access but also sparked a growing interest in racing.
“He wants to race … I don’t even think he cares at this point if it’s a monster truck or a regular race car,” Michele said. “He just really loves cars.”
Because of that interest, Donaldson later connected the family with Julius Curry, owner of Curry Motorsports. Donaldson said she and Curry first connected at an event hosted by Curry Motorsports.
Donaldson said she felt a personal connection to Kaden and his family, noting her own son lost his father when he was seven years old.
“I almost feel it’s a God thing, like Lord, you sent me over here to help him,” Donaldson said. “As a young man, I know losing your dad is hard.”
Kaden and his family met Curry at a racetrack, where he showed Kaden how to drift race and allowed him to ride in one of his cars with a driver.
Following the meeting, Kaden and his family asked Curry if he could create an accessible car for Kaden, and he agreed.
“We are actually working on the build now,” Curry said.
Curry said the goal is to create more cars like Kaden’s in the future for more families. “We have to let people know that kids like him need opportunities.”
