{"id":315602,"date":"2026-06-22T13:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/315602\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:54:08","slug":"dream-day-2026-10-year-old-colton-kilgores-faith-resilience-shine-amid-heart-defect-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/315602\/","title":{"rendered":"Dream Day 2026: 10-year-old Colton Kilgore\u2019s faith, resilience shine amid heart defect battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Dream Day<\/a> is coming to Northeast Florida this Saturday, and 36 brave children will be celebrated as stars for the day.<\/p>\n

Over the week leading up to Dream Day, News4JAX will be highlighting several of the honorees, like 10-year-old Colton Kilgore, a Jacksonville-area boy whose resilience and faith are already inspiring those around him.<\/p>\n

Diagnosed at 5<\/p>\n

Just days after turning 5, Colton was rushed to three different emergency rooms in two days. Doctors discovered he had coarctation of the aorta, a life-threatening congenital heart defect requiring major surgery and additional procedures in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

His father, Jason Kilgore, describes his son simply.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a pretty good kid, you know, he\u2019s a kid. We try to let him be as much as possible,\u201d Jason said.<\/p>\n

After surgery, Colton made clear that his condition would not define or limit him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt never stopped me,\u201d Colton said.<\/p>\n

Fueled by faith<\/p>\n

Now 10 years old, Colton speaks with a conviction that belies his age. He credits his strength not to himself, but to his faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard, but I fought through it with God. God helped me,\u201d Colton said.<\/p>\n

When asked how he handles the uncertainty of knowing more surgeries may lie ahead, Colton did not hesitate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t allow it to affect me because I know, in my faith in God, I know deep down that He is the one who is keeping me here today and forever until it\u2019s time for me to actually go to Him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also believes his experience carries a greater purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod has a purpose for everything that he has done in my life and not only my life, everyone\u2019s life,\u201d Colton said.<\/p>\n

A family found in Dreams Come True<\/p>\n

For the Kilgore family, Dreams Come True has become more than an organization \u2014 it has become an extended family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big family,\u201d Jason said.<\/p>\n

Colton agrees wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is literally like having a bigger family than normal. They\u2019re like family that never leave your side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The family has been involved with Dreams Come True for years. <\/p>\n

In 2023, the organization sent Colton to Orlando for a trip filled with theme park adventures and a stay at Give Kids The World, a special resort created for children with serious medical conditions. <\/p>\n

For Colton, it was a chance to meet favorite characters and make memories that will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

Dream Day details<\/p>\n

The event, organized by the nonprofit Dreams Come True<\/a>, along with PRI Productions<\/a> and News4JAX, honors local children battling life-threatening medical conditions. <\/p>\n

Each child, known as a Dreamer, is treated to a day of royal treatment \u2014 dressing up as favorite characters, walking a 150-foot red carpet, meeting their heroes and celebrating with family and friends.<\/p>\n

Dream Day 2026 will be held this Saturday, and the public is invited to watch the celebration live from 10 a.m. to noon on WJXT Channel 4 and streaming on News4JAX+.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Dream Day is coming to Northeast Florida this Saturday, and 36 brave children will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[502,131250,116,118,117,5436,12276],"class_list":["post-315602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-community","tag-dream-day","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-morning-show","tag-positively-jax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}