GRAND BLANC, MI – A new comic book inspired by a 10-year-old Grand Blanc boy’s hard-fought battle with the flu is now available for purchase.
The book, “Kaden Blaze Fights Flu Bug,” tells the story of a superhero based on Kaden Stevenson, a fourth grader at Brendel Elementary School.
He lost both his legs about three years ago due to complications of the flu.
“When I think about how all the things that he has gone through, I don’t feel like I would have been as strong as he is,” Stevenson’s mother Michele Stevenson said. “He doesn’t give up.”
Students gathered at Brendel Elementary on Thursday, Sept. 25, to celebrate the launch of the book, created by Families Fighting Flu.
“Kaden’s story has had such an impact on our kids, teachers, staff, and parents,” Brendel Elementary Principal Duane Engleman said in a statement. “Everyone is so amazed by all he has accomplished, and we know Kaden Blaze will continue to do good things to help protect others from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Kaden Stevenson received a superhero’s welcome as he entered the school’s gymnasium on Thursday morning to a crowd of his fellow students cheering and chanting his name.
“I just think it’s good to hear about perseverance and being able to put your mind to something and know that you can overcome things if you put your mind to it,” Engleman told MLive-The Flint Journal.
Each student at the event received a free copy of the comic book and heard about Kaden Stevenson’s battle with the flu.
“Kaden has always been a superhero to all of us who know him,” Families Fighting Flu Executive Director Michele Slafkosky said in a statement. “His story is so inspiring, and he is such a unique kid.”
In the book, Kaden Blaze uses his superpowers to fight his arch enemy, the Flu Bug, with the help of his classmates and teachers, who use a “community immunity” cheer to scare the bug away.
The book highlights the importance of flu vaccinations as Kaden Stevenson didn’t receive the flu vaccine before he contracted the disease, which his mother deeply regrets.
“I had made the mistake of not getting Kaden’s flu vaccine that year, but I never knew anyone could become that ill from the flu,” Michele Stevenson said in a statement. “Now, we get our flu shot every year, and we share Kaden’s story, so this doesn’t happen to another family.”
During Thursday’s event, the Flu Bug came off the pages of the book and into the gymnasium, but Kaden Stevenson quickly came to the rescue, smacking the bug with two inflatable bats until it retreated into a nearby hallway.
Kaden’s heroics earned him another round of applause from his classmates.
“That was proud mama moment to see your son watching his dreams come true,” Michele Stevenson told the Journal.
Michele Stevenson noticed her son was less energetic than usual shortly before Christmas in 2022.
She took him to a local hospital after Kaden’s condition failed to improve after she monitored him for four days.
Kaden also complained of pain in his right leg.
After arriving at the hospital, Kaden was immediately airlifted to a children’s hospital in Grand Rapids.
It was while he was at the children’s hospital that Kaden was diagnosed with influenza A and Streptococcus.
Kaden also had an infection in his blood, which caused him to experience toxic shock syndrome, and his organs began to shut down.
“Those first weeks of Kaden’s illness were the most scared I’ve ever been,” Michele Stevenson said in a statement.
Both of Kaden’s legs had to be amputated due to the infection. His right leg was amputated above his knee, while his left leg was amputated below his knee.
Following the amputation, Kaden spent about nine weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation, and he will require additional surgeries in the future.
While he was hospitalized, a five-year-old boy who also contracted the flu died in the same hospital, and Kaden said he wanted to survive for him.
“He’s done a lot better than what I’d have done, and he has such a good attitude,” Kaden’s grandmother Teresa Stevenson said. “It’s so emotional to watch his growth.”
Families Fighting Flu is a non-profit organization with members across the United States, including one of its founders, Zach Yaksich, of West Bloomfield.
Yaksich’s daughter Alana died in 2003 when she 5 years old due to complications of the flu.
“The organization has grown, unfortunately, because of continued tragedy, but we do great work,” Yaksich said.
The organization works to protect children, families, and communities from the flu through advocacy, and flu education and prevention efforts, especially vaccination.
“It’s more important now than ever, especially with what’s going on and misinformation out there scaring people,” Yaksich said.
To learn more about Families Fighting Flu or purchase “Kaden Blaze Fights Flu Bug,” visit the organization’s website at familiesfightingflu.org.
All book proceeds go directly to the organization.