LEXINGTON – September 1, 2026
For the eighth-consecutive season, the Kentucky football team will welcome the “Lift Them Up Kid of the Game.”
The partnership started in 2018 to uplift the spirits of patients and families at UK HealthCare’s Golisano Children’s at UK and share their incredible stories.
A Lift Them Up kid is recognized at every Kentucky football home game. Each Lift Them Up kid gets to lead the team down the Cat Walk in a custom-built push cart. Bringing the idea to life was a joint effort between UK Athletics, UK HealthCare, the UK College of Engineering, Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Kentucky, and student-athletes like former UK offensive lineman and current NFL player Luke Fortner, who played a big role in helping design the push cart. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both the patients and the players.
This week’s Lift Them Up kid is seven-year-old Oliver.
After being hit by a car, Oliver suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and several other injuries. His care team in the pediatric intensive care unit at Golisano Children’s at UK kept him sedated, monitored brain swelling and placed him on a ventilator, and stabilized him until screws could be placed in his broken thigh bones.
Oliver loves spaghetti, hot dogs and the color blue. He loves working out, swimming and playing with his dogs. He loves any kind of cat, but especially a Wildcat. Oliver loves playing outside and getting “puff” (buff).