'He was an awesome kid': Will Kohn, early Hawkeye Wave participant, passes away

Will Kohn, 7, of Bettendorf passed away Saturday afternoon.

His family posted the news on the Facebook page "Team Will - Where there's a Will there's a way," which they'd used to share updates about Will's fight against heart failure.

Will was the first patient admitted to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital's new building. He entered the hospital a little over a year ago, on Jan. 6, 2017, and stayed most of the year.

Will loved the Hawkeye Wave, which he watched during his stay at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in 2017. He starred in a USA TODAY feature about the wave's impact.

Will was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a significant heart abnormality in which his left ventricle was severely underdeveloped. He went through several surgeries before he was put on the heart transplant list at age 3 ½.

A match was found on Sep. 14, 2017, and Will was able to return home in December. But according to updates on the Team Will Facebook page, Will was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma in early January.

Chris Kohn, 44, of Bettendorf told the Register that his son's tough, stubborn nature helped him survive as long as he did. "He fought through some things no one ever thought he'd get through," Kohn said. "He was an awesome kid."