Twelve-year-old cancer victim Julia Wagner was queen for a day when Miss Indiana Betsy Uschkrat of Sugar Land stopped by for a visit and let the youngster try on some of the crowns she has won on her voyage to next week's Miss America contest.
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Most people wouldn't consider snapping a leg bone on a trampoline to be a lucky break, but for 12-year-old Julia Wagner, it was. In fact, it may have saved her life.
"It was a blessing in disguise," said her mom, Cristina.
Two days before she was to enter seventh grade at Dulles Middle School in Sugar Land, Julia decided to join her two younger brothers, 6-year-old Jesse and 3-year-old Jai, on the trampoline. Although she didn't slide off when she slipped, Julia's leg broke completely through, overlapping itself in her thigh.
"She brought it to our attention that where the break was, was where her leg had been hurting her," Cristina said. She shared that news with the nurse, who reported it to the doctor who, in turn, examined the x-ray of Julia's leg more thoroughly and discovered a bone tumor.
A biopsy was inconclusive, so Julia was sent to an oncologist for a second biopsy, which showed she has osteosarcoma, the most common type of malignant bone cancer. Osteosarcoma is the sixth leading cancer in children under age 15. Its cause is unknown, but it appears a genetic predisposition exists, rendering some people vulnerable to developing the condition.
"One day she was looking forward to school; next thing you know, we're told she has cancer and she can't go to school," Cristina said.
Just hours before Julia broke her leg, her youngest brother, Joshua, arrived home from the hospital after days of recovering from surgery for pyloric stenosis, a disease that causes severe vomiting and is similar to reflux disease. Joshua was less than 1 month old at the time of the operation to correct his condition by widening the opening from the stomach to the intestines. His condition is also thought to have a genetic predisposition.
"I got to Southwest Memorial when Julia broke her leg and all I could think was, 'Oh, my God,'" Cristina recalled. And it's her faith in God that she said is getting her through what seems to be one disaster after another, with bills constantly mounting.
"We've had a tough time," the single mother admitted, adding she had to stop working outside the home in order to stay nearby and care for her daughter.
"Julia always tells me she feels guilty that I had to quit my job, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Cristina said just two days after her daughter had another surgery to remove the external fixator. The device had been holding her leg in place since the accident in August. It incorporates a system of pins, rods and clamps that extend from an external device to deep inside - and sometimes through - the bone.
When doctors removed the fixator on Jan. 10, they found the bone still broken, so Julia was placed in a full body cast and has been recovering in a hospital bed in the living room of her Stafford home ever since.
Julia had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure performed the day after leaving the hospital, the results of which would tell doctors whether amputation of her leg would be required, or if they could install a prosthetic bone instead.
Last Tuesday, Julia got the good news that surgeons will install a prosthetic bone and give her a total knee replacement.
"I am wonderful!" her mother exclaimed just after receiving the news they and so many others had been praying for. "I just talked to Julia's doctor and we're looking at limb salvage. The way the break was actually helped save the leg."
When Julia undergoes the surgery on Monday, doctors will determine whether a spot they have discovered on her lung needs to be removed as well.
"The spot on her lungs has been there from the start. If it's something they need to remove, they'll remove it," said her mom.
Thus far, Julia has received 13 of 33 planned chemotherapy treatments, but they had to be stopped for the January surgeries.
"The treatments make her white blood cell count so low and make her so weak, so we're on a break so she can have the surgeries," Cristina explained.
When asked how she and her children have been able to cope with all that has come their way in such a short period of time, Cristina first cited her faith, then quickly added, "With the wonderful help of my parents. We live at home with them, thank goodness, because it's been a rough road."
There have been other bright spots as well, such as the Christmas time visit Julia received from Miss Indiana (and previously Miss Houston), Betsy Uschkrat, formerly of Sugar Land.
"She came home to see her parents and they know Julia likes opera, so they asked her to come by and see Julia," Cristina said, explaining Betsy has won numerous awards for her operatic voice.
Betsy's parents, Jim and Karen Uschkrat of Sugar Land, attend New Hope Lutheran Church in Missouri City, along with Cristina and her family, and heard Julia wanted to meet their daughter.
"We invited her to come to our Christmas party on Dec. 22, she heard Betsy sing and joined in on some sing-along carols as well," said Jim Uschkrat. "You could tell this was a big event for her, right after several brutal rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments."
For Julia, it was an experience she'll never forget.
"It was real cool," she said, still animated about the encounter three weeks later. "There were these two little steps and I had to use my crutches to get up them. Before I could even say anything, she got me by my waist and lifted me up and I was like, 'Wow! Miss Indiana just picked me up!'"
"Julia's a real inspiration," said Jim Uschkrat. "She's very courageous and upbeat, even though she's fighting a cancer that's very serious."
It's so serious, in fact, that the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted her wish to have party similar to a quinceañera. It's scheduled for June 30 at the Elks Lodge in Stafford, and Julia is very much looking forward to the big event.
Her mom revealed Julia is also in the process of fulfilling another dream, to establish a foundation for osteosarcoma patients.
"I am, if you go and get those papers that I printed out," the anxious Julia interrupted her mom, directed her to her computer's printer.
"I spend a lot of time on the Internet, researching cancer support groups," she explained, adding she hopes to get the project under way soon.
Julia was a member of Chuck Norris' Kick Star Foundation before the trampoline accident occurred and she was diagnosed with cancer, and she hopes to return to the program once she heals from Monday's surgery.
"I became so dedicated and focused because of the Kick Star Foundation that I was actually looking forward to school this year," she said. "At the end of all this, I want to get back to my karate."
In an effort to help her literally get back on her feet and her family to do so figuratively, a fund in the form of a savings account has been established in her name at Chase Bank. Donations can be made at any branch to account number 2726598564 or may be mailed to Chase Bank, attention Carol Askew, 11806 Wilcrest, Houston, Texas, 77031.
The family is overwhelmed at the care and concern shown Julia as she faces the unknown, and Cristina said the prayers will continue for a successful surgery on Monday.
Although it's been a long, scary journey, she said, it all started with "a lucky break."
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