MeritCare Foundation

CMN Champions

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The Children's Miracle Network Champions program honors remarkable children from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland who have triumphed despite severe medical challenges. For their courage and perseverance, the Champions have been selected as international ambassadors for the 17 million kids treated each year at Children's Miracle Network hospitals.

Alyssa Pratt: 2010 North Dakota Champion

"Champions Presented by Walmart and Sam's Club, a Children's Miracle Network program."

Alyssa Pratt had just finished eighth grade and couldn't wait for summer. But she sure wished she felt better. She was exhausted, then came a pounding headache, bruising and dizziness.

A doctor's appointment on June 10, 2009, in her hometown of Minot, N.D., led to the devastating news: blood tests showed leukemia. The family needed to travel to MeritCare in Fargo immediately.

"I packed and I cried," recalls Alyssa.

When the Pratts arrived, they met their specialized team including Dr. Nathan Kobrinsky, MeritCare pediatric oncologist. He'd lead every aspect of Alyssa's care, both at MeritCare Children's Hospital and MeritCare Roger Maris Cancer Center.

Further tests showed Alyssa had Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia: the most common – and curable – type of childhood leukemia. Alyssa's 2-½ year treatment schedule began immediately, including chemotherapy, injections and pills. Challenging side-effects include fatigue, lowered immunity, infections, leg pain and nausea.

Alyssa takes it all in stride. "Things could be a lot worse," she says. Even hair loss (another side-effect) can't dampen her spirit. "It's just hair," she says, sporting a gray and pink newsboy cap.

Now several months into treatment, Alyssa's doing well. She's back in school as a ninth grade and still getting A's. She hopes to be a pharmacist.

And in her free time? She loves volleyball, scrapbooking, hanging out with friends, her dog Abbey, reading, baking, her aquarium and summer days at the family's lake cabin.

"I just keep taking life one day at a time and living it to the fullest," says Alyssa – a champion all the way.

2009: Matthew Garberg

Born 16 weeks early in Bemidji, Minn., Matt Garberg weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces. Babies so small and fragile face obstacles that can last a lifetime, but the first challenge? Survival. A call to MeritCare in Fargo set in motion a lifesaving journey.

2008: Cora Knudsvig

December 31, 2005 is a day the Keith and Tanya Knudsvig family will never forget. After complaining about a bad headache and vomiting, 5-year-old daughter Cora Knudsvig became unresponsive and was rushed to MeritCare Children's Hospital where doctors diagnosed her with a brain tumor (Papillary Neuroglioma).

2007: Monica Hatch

Monica Hatch had an unstoppable zest for life, despite the challenges and hardships of cancer. In 2003, at the age of 11, Monica was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that starts in the connective tissue.

2006: Tanya Holbrook

On January 2, 2005, Tanya Holbrook complained to her mother about a headache. Knowing something was very wrong, Tanya was rushed to MeritCare Children's Hospital. A cluster of blood vessels had exploded in her brain. Tanya was rushed into emergency surgery where doctors placed a stent in her head to relieve the pressure from the excess blood.

2005: Leah Vigum

Leah Vigum is a happy five-year-old who attends pre-school and loves to sing and dance. It is difficult to look at her bright smile today and believe that at the tender age of four months the unthinkable could have happened.

2004: Brandon Lee

In the fall of 2002, Brandon Lee began experiencing painful headaches, a condition unusual for an athletic nine-year-old boy. On New Year's Eve, when Brandon's headache became so severe that he could no longer tolerate the pain, his parents, Kimi and Jason, knew something was terribly wrong. They rushed him to MeritCare Emergency Center, where doctors discovered a tumor behind Brandon's eye.

2003: Simon Nelson

The incident that earned Simon Nelson his place as CMN Champion actually took place two years ago. On January 22, 2001, young Simon, clad only in his pajamas, wandered out of his family's home near Hitterdal, Minn., into a 10-degree night. At 4:30am, Simon's mother, Janna, awoke to find the front door open. Sensing something was wrong, she went to check on Simon and his brother, DeForrest, only to find Simon's bed empty.

2002: Sara Flint

Sara Flint's surgeries began on Nov. 23, 1994, the day she was born at MeritCare. Diagnosed with spina bifida, surgery was performed to close the opening on her spine. Ten days later, Sara underwent a second surgery to place a shunt into her head to drain off excess fluid.

2001: Tyler Klain

Fourteen-year-old Tyler Klain is the son of Durnell and Darcy Klain. He was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in March of 2000 and underwent many months of intensive chemotherapy treatment at MeritCare in Fargo. He is now in remission and doing well. Tyler is a patient of Dr. Nathan Kobrinsky, a pediatric oncologist/hematologist at MeritCare Children's Hospital.