Photo: University of Iowa
(Undated) -- A Winterset girl is the next Iowa Hawkeye kid captain. Eleven-year-old Chloe Dinka's adoptive parents were told she had club foot, but when she arrived from China she was diagnosed with several serious health conditions.
Chloe has been treated at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital for scoliosis, spina bifida, a tethered spinal cord, when the spinal cord abnormally attaches to the wall of the spinal canal; and a bony mass that split her spinal cord. Nearly 2, she could not sit on her own, let alone crawl or walk.
The Winterset girl underwent an 11-hour neurosurgical procedure to repair her spinal cord and subsequent operations, including the placement of MAGnetic Expansion Control (MAGEC) rods, to minimize the progression of scoliosis. Chloe has also been treated for other conditions, including Duane syndrome, a congenital eye misalignment that causes difficulties in the eyes moving side-to-side.
Now 11, the active fifth grader loves crafts and painting.
Iowa hosts Rutgers this Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.