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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 3:29 p.m., Tuesday, August 19, 2008

KSSK to share children's miracle stories

Advertiser Staff

Radio station KSSK will broadcast live from the cafeteria of Kapi`olani Medical Center for Women & Children this Thursday and Friday for two days to benefit Kapi`olani Children's Miracle Network.

One hundred percent of all donations from Kapi`olani Children's Miracle Network Radiothon for KIDS! stays in Hawai'i to benefit critically ill and injured children, event organizers said.

During the two-day event, former and current Kapi`olani pediatric patients, their parents, and the dedicated physicians and healthcare professionals who care for them share their stories live from a temporary studio in the hospital's cafeteria. Listeners can donate by calling in to a live phone bank of volunteers at 951-KIDS, or donate online at www.kapiolani.org.

A partial schedule for Thursday is as follows:

• 10:30 a.m. Kassian Niel, 11, with grandparents Bonnie and Philip. In October 2006, doctor's at Kapi`olani X-rayed Kassian's "sore ankle." The next day, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (cancer in the bone). In January 2007 doctors amputated Kassian's left leg just below the knee. Now fitted with a prosthesis, Kassian attends physical therapy, loves to play video games, ride horses with grandpa and has returned to school in Mililani.

• 6 p.m. Madison Charles, 8, with parents Yavette and Glen Charles. Weighing only 1 pound 6 ounces at birth, Madison had a tough start. She was born 10 weeks early with extremely underdeveloped lungs and required surgeries on her heart and intestines. For the first three months of her life, she relied on a ventilator to breathe and her family spent the first six months of her life at Kapi`olani before going home for the first time. She is an energetic third-grader at La'ie Elementary who enjoys soccer, hula and watching football with her dad.

• 6:30 p.m. Ryder Lum, 9. Ryder was born with a malignant brain tumor, but it wasn't until February 2007 that it was diagnosed. Ryder went through extensive rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He is a strong, energetic young man with a zest for life.

A partial schedule for Friday is as follows:

• 5 p.m. Mellorie Gander, 14, with mom May Gander. Mellorie was born with the heart condition Tetralogy Fallot (a hole in the wall separating the sides of her heart). Blood was going through the hole instead of to her lungs. At 2 years old, she had her first open heart surgery to repair the hole where doctors found a stray artery that complicated her condition. After three more open heart surgeries, Mellorie is now an active teenager who plays sports, loves to go shopping and volunteers at the hospital supporting other kids and parents struggling with heart issues in the group, Kardiac Kids.

Each year, more than 65,000 of Hawai'i's children receive medical attention at Hawaii's only children's hospital, Kapi`olani Medical Center for Women & Children. Through the Kapi`olani Children's Miracle Network, Kapi`olani Medical Center is able to help keiki across the Pacific receive the quality healthcare they deserve regardless of race, religion or ability to pay. Kapi`olani Children's Miracle Network funds have purchased medical equipment, assisted with Neighbor Island travel, educated the public and funded research programs for the benefit of all children in Hawai'i.