“I love singing,” six year-old Karlye boasts as she carries on to her favorite songs on her i-pod. Watching her jump off and on her mother’s lap, you would never guess she was in danger of losing her mobility three years ago. After a fall just before her third birthday, Karlye began complaining of leg pain. By the next morning her leg couldn’t bear the weight of her small frame and became swollen. A visit to the doctor quickly had her in the emergency room receiving an x-ray and scan that revealed she had a sizeable tumor.

Within days Karlye had a bone biopsy and was put into a body cast from her chest to her toes on her right leg and to her knee on her left leg to prevent the bone from shattering. The results of the biopsy revealed that Karlye had Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. The very next week she began the first of fourteen rounds of chemotherapy as she waited for a tissue transplant.

“Dr. Cheng, Karlye’s surgeon, wanted to replace the bone in her leg with donor tissue. This was the best option for Karlye to avoid having her leg amputated and minimize the number of surgeries she would need as she grows up,” said Denise, Karlye’s mother.

Four days before Christmas in 2005, Karlye received the tissue transplant that saved her leg, a milestone in her healing. As for the donor tissue that saved Karlye’s leg? “I thought it was pretty amazing,” said Denise.

A year later Karlye marked her fourth birthday with food, fun and a princess bouncer. Family and friends were invited to celebrate Karlye’s good health. She has since enrolled in dance classes. In addition to singing and dancing, this spunky little girl loves crafts, movies, Sponge Bob Square Pants, boating and making new friends.

“Tissue donation is an incredible gift – so many people can benefit. If Karlye hadn’t had that graft, she might have had to have her leg amputated. She’s just one of the people who benefited from her donor’s generosity.”