7-year-old's hospital gown designed for sister to be worn by kids across the country
A boy who created a hospital gown for his sister will now have his design worn by multiple children who are fighting illnesses.
Tyler Cepkauskas of Homer Glen, Illinois, entered the Starlight Children's Foundation contest with his 4-year-old sister Emily in mind.
Emily has had three heart surgeries, but the one person who always managed to lift her spirits was her brother Tyler--their mother, Laurie Cepkauskas, told "Good Morning America."
"I always say their relationship is hashtag sibling goals," Cepkauskas said. "Tyler, matter how sad she was, if she saw picture of him [or] he came to visit, nothing else mattered."
While she was 19 weeks pregnant with Emily, Cepkauskas was told her daughter had a congenital heart issue which was commonly linked to Down syndrome. Emily was later born with an atrioventricular canal defect, which affected her breathing.
In 2016, at three months old, Emily had her first open-heart surgery. She then had a second that same year when her heart started to fail. Her third procedure took place in 2018.
"Her left mitral valve is not working properly so they had to insert a mechanical valve," Cepkauskas said. "Every time she outgrows that valve she will have to have another open heart survey to replace it."
While in and out of the hospital for most of her life, Emily looked to Tyler for words of wisdom.
And when mom saw the hospital gown design contest on the Starlight Children's Foundation's Facebook page, Tyler knew what to create.
Tyler's gown includes words he tells Emily before surgery like "brave, courage and survivor."
"Thinking about it makes me cry because whenever she would go in, he didn't know if she would come back," Cepkauskas said. "If it's on her gown, she'll always remember when big brother is not with her."
By the end of this summer Tyler's gown will be manufactured for Emily and other children to wear.
"I just like being the nice kid," Tyler said in a statement to "GMA." "I hope that my gown makes kids like Emily happy. That was the whole purpose of all of this."
Tyler said he wants to thank everyone who voted for his design to help make his dream come true.
