IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - Dozens of side-by-side vehicles rolled into Iowa City on Saturday to honor 14-year-old Payten Stout and raise money for the hospital that treated her.
Payten had been sick on and off through the fall and winter of 2024, but in 2025 her condition turned critical. Her parents rushed her to Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids when she was struggling to breathe. When her condition worsened, doctors airlifted her to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, where specialists saved her life.
Doctors at UIHC diagnosed Payten with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis, a rare disease that caused her immune system to attack her lungs and kidneys simultaneously. After about a month of treatment, including eight days on ECMO, she was discharged.
Payten’s mother, Rhonda Goodman, said the experience was overwhelming.
“By the end of the day, you’re just praying to God not to take your child and to let you be a mom for one more day,” Goodman said.
Goodman said the care her daughter received was life-changing.
“It’s very special. I don’t have the words to describe what this hospital has done for us,” she said.
From patient to ride leader
Now fully recovered, Payten led Saturday’s ride herself. The event’s first stop was UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, where riders gathered below and waved to children looking out from their windows.
“It feels good, especially because I know what the wave means,” Payten said.
Goodman said the moment carried weight for families still inside.
“It’s hard to look out from the tenth floor and see everybody going on with their life, inside those windows, life kind of just stops,” she said.
Payten said the experience changed her perspective.
“Your life changes, and you don’t expect it, but you just have to adapt,” she said.
Payten’s family said they plan to make the ride an annual tradition, raising money for the hospital and honoring the team that treated her.