The Klahne Family - Cindy, Kristina, and Chuck

Port St. Lucie, FL

Our daughter Kristina was born on November 1, 1995 and appeared to be very healthy. We had done everything we knew to safeguard the health of our child.

In March 1996, at a routine visit, her pediatrician told us that he suspected something was wrong with our precious little girl.

At the age of four months, Kristina was diagnosed with a condition called hydrocephalus — fluid build-up on the brain. We thought our world had come to an end. As treatment, she was given a device called a VP shunt, designed to drain the excess fluid from her brain. We were told that the procedure was fairly common and that Kristina would be just fine. A month later, the shunt failed and needed to be replaced. The second shunt worked well and we saw immediate results. Kristina went from a little girl that could barely hold up her own head to a little girl that looked very healthy.

Our pediatrician requested that we measure Kristina's head to make sure that it didn't get any bigger. For the first few months she was fine. Then we were told that her head had begun to grow again. She was scheduled for a CAT scan to determine the reason for the swelling. On the evening of February 28, 1997, we were told that Kristina had a lesion on her brain that could be cancerous. We were devastated by the news.

On March 3, 1997, we rushed Kristina to a hospital in Tampa, Florida, to meet with an oncology team who came highly recommended by our pediatrician. The doctors ran tests and prepared her for surgery. It was then that we found out that she had a cancerous brain tumor called Medullablastoma. At this point, we prepared ourselves for the worst. On March 6th Kristina underwent a six-hour surgery. The doctors removed the tumor from Kristina's brain stem which measured 2.5 centimeters. Although the surgery went well, the doctors were only able to remove 50 percent of Kristina's tumor. Two weeks later Kristina began a protocol of chemotherapy which lasted 18 months. During this period, Kristina's mother and her grandmother traveled to Tampa — 200 miles from home — so that Kristina could receive her treatments, as well as 50 miles each week to Vero Beach, so that she could get an additional dose of chemotherapy as a follow up. This was our normal life for 18 months.

For almost two years, Kristina had to be isolated from her cousins and was not able to go to birthday parties or family gatherings. I think it may have been harder on us than it was on Kristina. Kristina was always very positive about her treatments and never let anything get her down. I guess that is why she is doing so well today. She is currently six months into remission (two years since her diagnosis) and we are happy to say that she is back in day care and interacting with other children.

I guess you could say that we have been very lucky, as some of the parents in our area have lost their children. It is still unknown what has caused the cancer cluster (approximately 30 cases) in our town. Last year, the St. Lucie County Health Department tested 37 homes in our area and so far they haven't found anything. We have had so-called environmental experts investigating the soil, water and air and they still have no answers. It is very unfortunate that the life of a child means nothing to these people.

We have no idea what caused Kristina's cancer, but we can tell you what caused her speedy recovery. Through family, friends and the power of prayer, anything can happen. We now assist with local fund raising activities to help some of the children who are still undergoing treatments, and we pray for them every day.