Elizabeth Miller needed no coaxing to go to kindergarten. With a quick wave, she’d gleefully run into class. When she suddenly started clinging to mom midway through the year, Tracy Miller thought Elizabeth had realized her younger siblings got to stay home.

"Her handwriting started getting sloppy and she appeared to be tired, then she complained of stomachaches. We and the doctor treated it as separation anxiety," Tracy said.

	Elizabeth Miller

She started dragging her right foot, but that, too, had an explanation: gymnastics. After other motor skills on her right side worsened, Tracy and her husband, Andy, took Elizabeth to their pediatrician on May 5, 2005. He took one look and ordered an MRI.

The MRI showed a tumor at the center of her brain. The tumor had been near the third ventricle, one of four cavities that communicate with the central canal of the spinal cord. Now, it was pressing on the ventricle, restricting the flow of fluid.

A six-hour biopsy by Riley Hospital for Children’s Dr. Bill Whitehead to see if the tumor was malignant proved inconclusive. The tumor needed to be removed. Although Dr. Whitehead was confident he could do it, neither he nor anyone else at Riley had ever performed this delicate surgery.

"Dr. Whitehead knew of a surgeon at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital who had done the surgery four times but with mixed results," Tracy said. "We weren’t sure what we should do."

Elizabeth was released from Riley on May 12. Her parents spent the next day on the phone moving her records. Then, Dr. Whitehead called; he had reviewed everything and was confident he could do the surgery. He was leaving with his family for a couple of days so the Millers had time to think: or so they thought.

That night Elizabeth started to drool. The tumor had shifted again, and Elizabeth needed immediate surgery. The Millers scrambled to get to Riley and decide who should perform the surgery.

Then fate intervened. Dr. Whitehead walked into the room; his trip cancelled due to his son’s illness.

"We’re very spiritual," Tracy said. "It became very clear we didn’t need to go anywhere."

The Millers knew their daughter might not survive the operation, or if she did, she might have brain damage.

"She knew my name in the recovery room, and she could feel her toes," Tracy said. "She’d lost a lot of her memory, but we were elated."

The tumor began growing again in 2006, but 70 weeks of chemo stopped it. Dr. Kamnesh Pradhan, her neuro-oncologist, doesn’t expect a recurrence.

Now 11, Elizabeth’s outlook is sunny.

Elizabeth and her parents have kept Riley in their hearts and minds. Elizabeth collects DVDs for patients’ entertainment. Tracy and Andy are raising funds to name a room in the Riley Simon Family Tower after their daughter. They have collected more than $70,000 toward their $100,000 goal through ElizabethsStory.org, which allows donors to give to Riley Children’s Foundation in Elizabeth’s name.

"You can help kids just like me," Elizabeth says on the Web site.

"If we all work together, I know we can reach our goal."