By DARLENE PRINCE

prince@crescent-news.com

OAKWOOD -- An Oakwood toddler with serious birth defects has been chosen as the recipient of this year's Trees of Life-Pat Buckley Moss Society fund-raiser.

Taylor Tumblin was born June 2, 2005, with Trisomy 18, a chromosome disorder. She was not expected to live more than 30 days, but the daughter of Roger and Kelly Tumblin of Oakwood has turned out to be a strong little girl who keeps fighting for her life.

She has been through reconstructive heart surgery, is on oxygen and uses an Ng tube for feeding and medication. Surgery for scoliosis of the spine is planned to relieve the pressure of her spine on her lungs.

"Taylor Brooke is our angel, sent to us from above," said her mother. When Taylor was diagnosed at 18 weeks in utero with Trisomy 18, Kelly and Roger were told the disease was fatal.

"We were told it would probably be best to abort the pregnancy. But we didn't think it was our decision. If she was not meant to survive, that would be God's decision. So, Taylor was delivered by C-section at 39 weeks. They expected her to be born and have to be revived, but that didn't occur.

"She was in the NICU for nine days. They said, 'Take her home, enjoy her. She has maybe 30 days.' What a long 30 days! But she held her own."

Kelly said Taylor's reconstructive heart surgery to patch a hole that affected all four heart chambers was delayed until she was a year old. She had to have CPR because her heart stopped twice, but after five weeks she was able to come home.

Kelly said Taylor is able to eat cereal and fruit with a spoon. While she is supposed to have surgery for scoliosis of the spine, Kelly said that surgery has been postponed because her spine seems to have stabilized.

"A man we know is treating her with a mixture of herbal oils," she explained.

"He puts one drop a month of the mixture on her spine. We don't know if it is really working, but it isn't hurting her."

Kelly also mentioned the time they took Taylor to see a neurologist who picked her up, looked at her and said she would never smile, never coo or track things (with her eyes).

"I told him that she already does all those things," Kelly said, noting the neurologist was still very negative in his attitude so they never went back to him.

"We try to stay with positive people," she said. "The team of doctors she has now are all positive. They are amazed to see her."

There have been lifestyle changes for the Tumblins because of Taylor's illness.

"I was laid off from work when I was pregnant with Taylor," Kelly said. "I never went back after she was born."

She said Roger has an additional job so she can stay home with Taylor. Kelly's older daughter is a nurse and watches Taylor when Kelly has errands to do. Taylor has two half sisters and a half brother.

"She is truly a miracle," Kelly said. "From the beginning the odds were stacked against her. But she is a fighter. She has surpassed so many things.

"She has a long road ahead of her. But I know she is watched by God and she has surely blessed us. "She is a very happy girl. We are so glad we didn't miss her smiles and laughs."

Deb Weisgerber, a Moss society member, said P. Buckley Moss gives prints to charities that use them to raise funds for people with needs like Taylor's.

"She had a learning disability, so she understands these problems," Weisgerber said of Moss.

While the society usually sells tickets for a raffle prize of a P. Buckley Moss print and several other items, it was decided this year to have a prize for each of the 30 days in September.

Two framed Moss prints will be among the 30 prizes, as will a $25 Applebee's gift card, a $50 Lowe's gift card, a Moss teddy bear print and a Moss etching, $50 in cash, two Vera Bradley purses, a Hearts & Hearth Christmas book by Georgia Kohart, and other items.

A ticket will be drawn each day of the month and winners will be notified by a telephone call. Ticket costs are $5 each, three for $10 or six for $20.

Tickets can be bought at the Lilac Festival this weekend in Defiance, Art in the Park on June 29 in Defiance, Arps Hardware, Carp Festival on July 12 in Archbold and at the Corner Gallery, Archbold. Checks can be made payable to Trees of Life.

The P. Buckley Moss Society has been holding fund-raisers since 1992 for such causes as the Defiance Area Society for the Handicapped, Sara's Garden hyperbaric treatment center, Defiance Area In-Patient Hospice Center, LAM Foundation, Hospice the Caring Way of Defiance and the Jann Munn and Ramon Marshall scholarship funds. The society has raised more than $80,000 over the years.

For more information about the society or the fund-raiser, call Weisgerber at 419-782-4311.