A local child with epilepsy competes in Stan Lee’s Super Kid competition
Published at | Updated at
REXBURG — After facing several surgeries and medical treatments, a local 5-year-old boy is competing for the title of Super Kid in the Stan Lee Super Kid competition.
Braxtyn Peterson, who has experienced 16 seizures in a single day as early as last November, remains positive as he competes for the grand title of Super Kid.
“He’s the toughest kid I know,” his mother, Katelyn Spencer, said in an interview.
The Super Kid competition awards the winning child $25,000, tickets to the Los Angeles Comic Con, and a featured role as a hero in a comic book. According to Spencer, the money would go toward Braxtyn’s treatments if the family won.
“We have to go to Primary Children’s (Hospital in Salt Lake City) fairly often for follow-ups and surgeries,” Spencer said.
On the competition’s website, voting is listed as having begun on Sept. 14, but it is still ongoing and will not close until Nov. 19. The winner will be announced on Dec. 17.
According to Spencer, Braxtyn has reached the top 15 in his group. If Braxtyn makes it to the top five and is number one in his group, he could be selected to move on to the semi-finals.
For the past year and a half, Braxtyn has experienced several seizures a day. Despite seeing the doctors and specialists, the cause of Braxtyn’s seizures is still unknown.
To protect himself, he wears a helmet so that if he has a seizure while standing up, he will not hurt his head when he falls. Despite this, he always has fun and enjoys swinging outside.
“He’s such a good kid, and he is so happy. I just think that the biggest thing is having him feel like a hero. I think that it would be life-changing for him,” Spencer said.
Braxtyn’s biggest hero through this experience has been Spider-Man.
“He has loved Spider-Man for years,” Spencer said. “He dresses up as him quite often.”
When he thinks about being a superhero, Spencer shared how he wants to save others and stop criminals from causing more harm.
“He talks about wanting to help put the bad guys away. He talks about being a cop, wanting to be a soldier. I think that’s a lot about wanting to help with the bad guys.”
For anyone interested in supporting Braxtyn, a link to vote on his profile is available here.
When thinking about Braxtyn’s high energy and how he keeps going, Spencer said, “He definitely motivates me to try my best as a mom and push my hardest to get him some help.”