At age 4, Kiersten “KK” Sharpe of Birmingham is already a spitfire of a dancer and a crack-up character who always makes her presence known. When she was born, there was little hope for her survival.

Kiersten had a rare birth defect called a giant omphalocele, a protrusion of her liver and intestines outside her abdomen and into her umbilical cord. The condition also forced her heart and other organs out of place and put her life in immediate jeopardy.

Through a series of operations at Children’s Hospital — one of which involved a surgeon delicately lifting her tiny heart into its proper place — the anomalies were corrected and Kiersten’s odds of survival began to improve. Over the next two years, she underwent one medical procedure after another.

Kiersten’s parents, Philip and Mandy, often wondered if their little girl would survive because their daughter’s condition also resulted in breathing problems. She was completely dependent on a ventilator to breathe for the first year of her life.

Today, though she sometimes mourns the absence of the bellybutton she will one day receive, Kiersten is the star of every dance recital and the undisputed queen of her castle. Her parents say she’s never met a stranger and her impact on the staff of Children’s Hospital was significant. The staff quickly grew to love her and have been amazed by her resilience.

You can learn about Alabama’s Champion, Kiersten Sharpe, and the other Champion Children by watching the 2004 Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Celebration benefiting Children’s Hospital on June 5 and 6. The following stations will be participating:

• WVTM, NBC 13 Birmingham
• WSFA TV, NBC 12 Montgomery
• WAAY TV, ABC 31 Huntsville
• WTVY TV, CBS 4 Dothan

You also can participate in one of the upcoming CMN Radionthons on the following days:

• April 7 and 8 — WTXT Tuscaloosa, 98.1 FM
• June 3, 4 and 5 — WMJJ Birmingham, Magic 96 FM
• June 3, 4 and 5 — WLAY (1450 AM), WKGM and WVNA (105.5 FM) — The Shoals Area