A rare cancer took this Clovis girl’s hair. It couldn’t take her smile, or her mom’s spirit

Among the many terrifying moments after learning her 5-year-old somehow got cancer, Shayna Telesmanic was perhaps most nervous when her daughter would discover she was losing her hair.

Thick and wavy and naturally highlighted, Caroline Telesmanic’s hair was a combination of light-brown tones complementing the rest of her medium-brown hair.

And brushing her hair was an activity Caroline enjoyed, especially when her mom did it.

“Brushing your daughter’s hair is very big,” Shayna said while slightly choking up and thinking of those mother-daughter bonding moments.

“She would take care of it. Brush it every day. That was her thing.”

In child terms, as Shayna has communicated to her daughter, Caroline suffered a boo-boo that caused her to lose all of her beautiful hair and left a long scar that runs down her right arm.

Medically speaking, Caroline is battling a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma that required doctors to remove her humerus and insert a prosthetic.

Doctors said a tumor was attacking Caroline’s upper arm bone.

Medical reports state it’s extremely rare for children 5 years old and younger to have osteosarcoma. Nonetheless, Caroline has since been undergoing lengthy chemotherapy treatment.

And still — through the cancer detection, the nine-hour surgery, the chemo and the hair loss that all occurred at some point in the past eight months — little Caroline has managed to maintain a big smile.

“She has lots of joy and she’s brought that throughout the process,” Shayna said. “Of course, there are the days she doesn’t feel well or she doesn’t want to get the poke. Or she’s so sick that she can’t eat.

“But we try to keep going. Our whole philosophy has been to take things day by day. She’s really done an amazing job. I find so much inspiration through that. And that’s what’s kept me going.”

Cancer at 5 years old

About a week after Caroline started kindergarten, she started complaining about discomfort in her upper arm.

She spent a week trying to limit her arm movement, only carefully moving it when necessary while tolerating the pain.

Then one Saturday, Caroline went to jump into the family’s backyard swimming pool and started screaming.

She immediately was rushed to urgent care.

Nothing, however, was discovered initially.

And the pain eventually subsided enough for Caroline to deal with it for a few more days before seeing an orthopedic surgeon and having X-rays done at Valley Children’s Hospital.

Shayna guessed the results would show her daughter somehow suffered a small fracture: “Here I am thinking, ‘I wonder what color cast she’s going to have.’”

Instead, the doctor informed Shayna that Caroline was dealing with something much worse.

“Something is attacking your daughter’s bone,” Shayna recalled the doctor telling her.

“You could see it in the X-ray,” Shayna said. “Her bone looked like a cobweb, a spiderweb. It was a very surreal experience. I’m in my mask with her, trying not to hyperventilate.

“He didn’t say it was a tumor. She first needed to have further testing. And I said, ‘Before I look on the internet of what this could be, what could it be?’ And he said, ‘It’s probably not good.’ ”

Three weeks later, the tumor was confirmed.

Another three weeks later, when Caroline should’ve been simply enjoying life as a kindergartner, the little girl with the beautiful, wavy hair was starting chemotherapy.

Opening up on social media

As often is the case with cancer, there’s not necessarily any rhyme or reason why Caroline got osteosarcoma.

“A one in a million, fluke experience,” Shayna said.

Shayna, who always had been active on social media from her time as a TV host of a children’s cooking show, turned to Instagram and Facebook to share her family’s experience.

Writing down her thoughts and feelings helped Shayna cope with Caroline’s situation. It also was a mother’s shot in the dark to see if anyone else in the world had dealt with a similar situation and maybe could help her navigate through the Telesmanic family’s new reality.

“We need prayer, positive light, good intentions (all the things) for our Little Miss,” Shayna wrote on social media. “It sounds like we have a long road ahead of us. I could not be more grateful for those that have already come to our rescue this week.

“We are beyond grateful for the love and support. I know that there will be no ‘magic bullets’ but we are open to any and all ideas, advice, and recommendations — there is literally nothing that we will not do to help our little girl.”

And if anything else, Shayna thought sharing Caroline’s journey maybe could inspire others.

Caroline’s situation eventually was brought to the attention of “Campaign One At A Time,” a Southern California-based nonprofit organization that strives to help children and their families who are are going through difficult times due to medical reasons.

Each month, the nonprofit selects one child across the United States to help fulfill one of their dreams.

For March, “Campaign One At A Time” selected Caroline with the mission to raise $10,000 to send her family to the Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii.

The Telesmanics wanted to give back, too.

So with the help of “Campaign One At A Time” founder Brodi Nicholas, Caroline and her family, which included older sister, Alexandria, put together 100 “warrior boxes” filled with toys, snacks, gift cards and encouraging messages to give to other children battling pediatric cancer.

“When we run monthly campaigns, the kids can ask for anything,” Nicholas said. “What stood out about Caroline was she and her family really wanted to help out other kids as well.

“It started as a trip to Hawaii. But they’re such a giving family. They were immediately asking how could they help more kids. And Caroline, she’s such a happy person.”

Feeling support from community

Before the last strands of her hair could fall on their own, Caroline asked her mom if she could shave her head.

It was a bittersweet moment for Shayna — proud to see her daughter confront the notion of losing all of her hair, yet sad, to see what the cancer had done to her baby.

Yet seeing Caroline laugh and smile and continuing to play reminded Shayna to stay positive. Caroline also was excited about wearing different colored wigs for her friends to see.

For kindergarten class, Caroline would attend via online schooling and initially wore wigs in front of the camera.

But one day, Caroline said she felt too hot wearing the wig. So she took it off, and without any hesitation, remained on camera while revealing her bald look for the first time in front of her classmates.

No one among the class of 5- to 6-year-olds thought it was a big deal.

Caroline didn’t, either.

But Shayna understood the significance: Hair or no hair, Caroline wasn’t seen a sick kid but simply as a child.

“She just rocks her cute, little bald head,” Shayna said. “You know, you are more than your hair. I think that’s a lesson that we can all learn.”

The kindergarten class also raised approximately $300 to donate to Valley Children’s on Caroline’s behalf by combining money they earned from doing various chores around their home and having their teacher match their combined amount.

Many of the Telesmanics’ neighbors and friends also took part in a walkathon to raise additional funds that benefited Valley Children’s on behalf of Caroline.

“The amount of support that we’ve received,” Shayna said, “we will never be able to repay and we are forever grateful for.”

‘Good comes from positive thinking’

Caroline has two more cycles of chemo, then doctors will have a better gauge of whether the treatment worked.

Caroline also works with a physical therapist to help regain mobility in her right arm. There’s a chance, doctors have told the family, she will be able to lift her right arm directly up by only 30%.

But when therapists asked Caroline her goal, she said she wanted to still be able to do gymnastics, play tennis and swim again.

In the meantime, Caroline says she “kind of” likes her bald look.

Caroline also wiggles when her mom calls her a “bad ass” because of the scarring that runs down her arm — though this 5-year-old knows better than to say the word out loud.

“It’s a bad word,” Caroline said, before smiling wide.

And when asked how much she loves her mom, Caroline says “so much.”

The trickle-down mentality is what motivates Shayna to maintain a positive outlook despite any worries and fears that might try to creep into her mind.

On a day when Caroline wasn’t feeling so great, Shayna posted an open message to her daughter titled “If love could cure.”

And it perhaps best summed up their journey of pain and hope, and anger and love:

“While I may not have the power to make this all go away, I can wrap you up and make you feel safe and comfortable.

“I can calm your nerves, ease the pain, cheer you up during the worst of times.

“There is no end to the love I have for you (and your sister) baby girl.

“I wish so badly that I could take away the discomfort you have on days like today, when you look at me with your big beautiful eyes and ask that I help you feel better.

“When you crawl into my lap and wrap my arms around you, I wish I could change the world for you.

“On social media, I usually try to stay positive and show the ‘best’ of any situation — mainly because I truly do believe that good comes from positive thinking — both for my family and for life in general.....

“But on days like today — when she can barely move — I hold my breath and wait, and pray for my baby girl to feel better and start dancing again. #fcancer”

This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.