'MIRACLE CHILD' RECOVERING\Cancer, transplant can't slow down boy.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Two-year-old Trenton Koehler is a wonder to his parents because - following brain cancer and a bone marrow transplant - he still can keep them on their toes.

It was in June when Trenton's mother realized that something was wrong with her toddler.

"He just wasn't himself," said Hope Koehler. "It's just part of a mother's instinct to know."

Although the boy's symptoms were flulike, his sickness seemed to be more than that, his mother said. She took him to Antelope Valley Hospital for further tests.

Doctors discovered that Trenton had a 2-1/4-inch tumor growing in his brain and diagnosed him with a condition called anaplastic astrocytoma.

"It was an extremely fast-growing cancer," Hope Koehler said. "It was occupying a quarter of his brain."

Trenton's father found it difficult to hear the news.

"It just didn't seem possible," Robert Koehler said. "He was such a healthy, happy kid. Once we saw the CAT scan, that's when it became realistic. That's when it was brought to life."

Doctors immediately decided surgery was the best treatment. At the end of July surgeons removed 95 percent of the tumor.

Then he underwent chemotherapy - receiving five extremely high doses of drugs over five days every three weeks - in an attempt to kill the remaining cancer cells.

"Hopefully it was all successful," said Hope Koehler, who had to quit her job as an administrative manager at a security company in July. "We're hoping this will be the end of it."

In January, Trenton underwent an experimental bone marrow transplant, using marrow from the toddler's hip.

"He could do that because the cancer has not affected any other of his organs," Hope Koehler said. "He's very strong."

Now the Koehlers are playing the waiting game, going in for checkups once a week but hoping their son has overcome the worst of his illness.

"He's our miracle child," Hope Koehler said. "He has an angel sitting on his shoulders. We can breathe again."

To help the family pay their medical bills, friends and relatives have organized a fund-raiser from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday at Dimples Family Fun Center, 1050 Commerce Center Drive, Lancaster.

Donations can be made to Wells Fargo Bank c/o Trenton Koehler Trust Fund, 3027 Rancho Vista Blvd., Palmdale.

Hope Koehler was allowed to keep her insurance plan after she resigned from her job. But a few months ago her company changed owners and her insurance policy was canceled.

Robert Koehler works as a counter clerk at a wholesale heating and air conditioning supply store.

While doctors say the boy needs at least a year for his immune system to recover, Trenton doesn't seem to notice a difference.

He jumps up and down and runs throughout the house, keeping his parents busy and clutching his favorite stuffed animal - named Baby - which he took with him to every surgery and every doctor's appointment.

"Baby's seen more surgeries than I have," Hope Koehler said.

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Photo (1--ran in SAC edition only--color) Funds are being raised to help Robert and Hope Koehler of Lancaster pay for their son Trenton's brain cancer treatment and bone marrow transplant. (2) Trenton Koehler holds his favorite stuffed animal, Baby, who has been to every surgery and doctor's appointment. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News