DES MOINES, Iowa — Colt Cosper is known to many as "Super Colt". He's social media famous because of his struggles with Doose Syndrome.
"Intractable form of epilepsy which means it's very hard to treat," his mom, Mandy Cosper, said. "For Colt, he's on the severe end so he has tried and failed every single treatment option."
He leaves school with an aid and wears a helmet to protect him from injuries during severe seizures, but is pretty self-sufficient at home. When he is rattling off math problems and facts about superheroes, you'd never know the two hemispheres of his brain were separated surgically last year. It sparked a myriad of health issues that kept him in the hospital for months.
"Very rare chance that you can get an infection from any surgery, and he did," Mandy said. "He got meningitis in his brain and then meningitis turned into a brain abscess and then he just had several small things but kept building up after that."
During that time and every time Colt is inpatient at MercyOne Children's Hospital in Des Moines, he feels like he's at home.
"It could be really depressing spending that much time, depressing for him depressing for me and my family, but [in a] way he loves going," Mandy said.
He plays games with the doctors, spraying them with water guns. The nurses are family.
Colt and Mandy decided they needed to give back. That's when the idea of making t-shirts came into play.
"[We] really wanted to do something for Mercy which we consider a home away from home," Mandy said. "It's hard during a pandemic, and it's hard to think of something where you can raise a lot of money just Colt and I."
The shirts will be printed locally and all the proceeds will benefit the MercyOne Foundation.
Colt created the design himself. He wants to "sell billions."
This fundraiser is a small way for the Cospers to give back
"He loves the treasure chest so he talks a lot about that," Mandy said. "I think it's neat that he can think of others. To me, I think sometimes it's all about him in the hospital sometimes. He gets so much attention."
"But the fact that he understands that there are others that need love and attention is pretty powerful."
To purchase a t-shirt, you can Venmo Mandy (@Mandy-MooreCosper) $20. Include your contact information and t-shirt size in the comment section.
You can also email teamcoltcosper@gmail.com.
Click here to find more information about how to order.