Do you believe in miracles? I do. In fact, I heard of one recently. It’s the story of Caroline Turns, a 9-year-old who, in her battle to beat pancreatic cancer, had a lifesaving, five organ transplant. That’s right. This brave little girl received a new liver, pancreas, stomach, and small and large intestines, a complex procedure that saved her life.

The thought of one’s child being diagnosed with cancer is difficult enough. Having to undergo such extensive surgery would be incomprehensible. Yet for parents Marcjana and Patrick Turns, the surgery represented the climax of a faith journey that started in June 2007, when Caroline first began complaining of stomach pain. Alarmed, the couple took her to their pediatrician who sent them to the ER, where the tumor on her pancreas was discovered. The hospital immediately referred the family to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It was there Caroline was diagnosed with pancreatoblastoma, a cancer so rare physicians at St. Jude had never encountered it before. (Only 50 such cases have been reported in the U.S.)

When it came time to removed the tennis-ball sized tumor on her pancreas, doctors at both Mayo Clinic and John Hopkins University wouldn’t even consider the surgery. Too risky, they said. Then Le Bonheur liver surgeon Max Langham put the Turns in touch with Dr. Andreas Tzakis, a world-renowned transplant surgeon in Miami who agreed to take on their case.

To be seen by Tzakis, the Turns had to move to South Florida for nine months while Caroline received treatment and prepared for the surgery. “But my husband and I are a good team,” observes Marcjana. “And we’ve been able to take extended leave from our jobs to care for Caroline.” Despite the invasive nature of the transplant, which took place in June 2008, their daughter came through it with flying colors.

And then last week they received the news they’d been hoping for just: Caroline’s cancer is in remission. Now in third grade, her sunny disposition hasn’t dimmed. She enjoys doing art and cooking while continuing preventative chemotherapy and monthly checkups with doctors in Miami.

The family has survived these two years thanks to the overwhelming support of family, friends, even their insurance company, Aetna. “We also had a big rule early one: no drama, nor gloom and doom. I didn’t want Caroline to be around that because I knew in my heart that although this was a rare and complicated form of cancer, she’d come through it.”

If you’d like to support the Turns family, a fund-raising benefit showing of the film, Hannah Montana – The Movie, takes place Saturday, April 11 at 9:30 a.m. at Malco’s Collierville Town Center. The $20 admission fee goes to The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. To learn more, go to cotaforcarolinet.com

Tags: cancer, inspiration

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