Thunder Names Eight-Year Old Honorary Captain for Go Red Night
January 12, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wichita Thunder News Release
Wichita, KS- The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators and powered by Toyota, are excited to continue its partnership with the American Heart Association for Go Red Night on Friday, February 10th against the Colorado Eagles. The Thunder have partnered with R.A. Ruud and Son, Inc. and Allegiant Air this season to help bring awareness to women's heart health through the Go Red for Women Movement.
Today, the team announced that 8-year old, Eagan Sutton, will be this year's honorary captain for the game.
Eagan was born on June 30, 2010 and was eight-weeks premature after the OB was unable to find a heartbeat at his mom, Megan's regular checkup. When he was born, his heart rate was 42 beats per minute, and he was quickly diagnosed with Complete Congenital Heart Block, Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA), and Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO). Within three hours of being born, Eagan was flown to Children's Mercy in Kansas City, where he spent eight weeks in the NICU.
When he was just three days old, and not quite 5-pounds, he underwent open heart surgery to fix is PDA, PFO, and placed a pacemaker, which he'll need for the rest of his life. At three years old, Eagan had is pacemaker replaced, and was fitted with a newer, bigger model.
One year later, it was found, simply by chance, that he had broken one of his lead wires, and he underwent surgery again to replace the wire.
Now, at six years old, he is everything a little boy should be, and more. He's active, takes two hours of dance lessons every week, is funny, and loves to drive his siblings crazy. The hope is that his next surgery won't be for another five years or so, and it's looking pretty good so far.
Eagan will be at morning skate the day of the game and watch warm-ups from the bench. He will also drop the ceremonial face-off before the game as well.
Go Red Night has drawn the two of the four largest crowds in franchise history. 13,168 fans flocked to the arena on Saturday, February 11th, 2012, which is the second largest crowd in franchise history while 10,490 came in 2014. The Thunder and their fans have helped raise over $40,000 for this great cause.
Fans can use the code GORED for a discounted ticket price with 50% of the proceeds using this code going back to the American Heart Association. To buy tickets, click here.
The American Heart Association helps fund more research on children's heart diseases than any organization outside the federal government. Congenital Heart Defects are the number one birth defect among children in the US, with more than 36,000 babies impacted each year.
February is American Heart Month, which is a perfect chance to focus on the prevalence of heart disease, America's No. 1 killer. It is also a time to pause and celebrate the research and education that makes lifesaving advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease a reality. For more information on heart-healthy living, you can visit www.heart.org.
The Thunder hits the road on Friday night to face the Allen Americans at 7:05 p.m. Wichita returns home on Saturday evening to host the Missouri Mavericks at 8:05 p.m.
Individual tickets for all Thunder home games are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.
Contact a Thunder representative at the office today to learn more about our great season, group and other ticket packet opportunities!
Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn, presented by Wichita Brewing Company.
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