| Dec. 19--Last
year, a girl from an Omaha family spent Christmas at a hospital in England.
This year will be much happier -- she is
healthy and, at 11, a published author.
Kara Siert wrote the 237-page "Tales of
Cunburra and Other Stories," about talking animals and a girl named Nancy.
Kara, daughter of Air Force Maj. Ward
Siert and his wife, Linda, survived bone cancer in her right arm. Her story
and her book have gained much attention in England, where her dad is
stationed.
Ward and Linda adopted Kara from China
when she was 11 months old. In a Chinese first-birthday tradition, a tray of
objects was placed before Kara.
The idea is that the object the child
selects will signify her interests or future. Kara selected -- a pen.
Her parents read to her right away, and
by age 3, she was dictating stories to them. By 5 she was writing on her
own, and at 7, she taught herself to type.
A home-schooled student, she was inspired
by books, toys and imaginative play. Her mother said Kara began filling up
the computer with stories.
A year and a half ago, just before Ward
was assigned to RAF Lakenheath in England, Linda read aloud "The Chronicles
of Narnia." Kara, then 9, soon followed with a burst of creativity, writing
her own stories of a fantasy world called Cunburra.
In a space of about four months -- in
Omaha and in England -- she wrote 15 of the 18 stories that became her book.
But soon after arriving overseas on June
8, 2005, Kara said her arm hurt. By August, her parents were stunned to find
out she had a tumor and a fracture.
The girl's waist-length hair was
shortened before chemotherapy, and she soon lost most of the rest. Her
parents even talked to her about the possibility of death, which she
accepted.
Ward and Linda took turns in 24-hour
shifts at the hospital. The many sessions of chemo were rough, and Kara was
often sick.
The tumor was removed on Jan. 11 and
replaced with a titanium rod. Five more months of chemo followed.
Ward was raised on a "popcorn farm" at
168th and Q Streets and attended Millard High School (now Millard South).
His father, Lloyd Siert, now 89, lives in the Millard area with his wife,
Greta.
During the family's ordeal, Omaha
friends, including many from Christ Community Church, sent cards, gifts and
prayers.
Meanwhile, a social worker in England
learned of Kara's writing and mentioned Dreams Come True, a charity similar
to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The charity arranged for her stories to be
published in a book.
That happened in May. Kara has had
book-signings and has appeared on the BBC and in newspapers. The book, $20,
is available in bookstores, online and at www.karasiert.com.
In the past year and a half, brave Kara
has had a lot on her plate. The tray of life is filled with many
possibilities for her to choose -- but a pen was a good place to start.
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