4 minute read
Bella's Transplant Journey Continued
Bella and her family in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
Above: Bella and Kyla at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. Below: Bella and Kyla visit David Foster and his wife, Katharine McPhee, in Toronto ON at the Foundation's 'A Night On Broadway' fundraising event. After two years in the hospital, Bella was finally able to go home. However, her medical treatment did not stop there. From her first admission at three days old to when she turned six, Bella has had 20 surgeries and counting. Hirschsprung’s disease caused a portion of Bella’s intestines to stop functioning, and she needed to undergo many surgeries because of this. These surgeries required Bella to have many broviaks placed, which is a line that is placed directly into a large vein leading into the heart. In July of 2020, SickKids Hospital in Toronto took over Bella’s care and she travelled from Saskatchewan to Toronto. The medical team at SickKids determined that Bella needed a bowel transplant to survive, and she was listed for transplant on August 27th, 2020. All the broviaks she had placed led to scarring on her veins and the doctors also told Kyla and Lyle that Bella’s current CVC site (where the lines are placed) needs to last until the bowel transplant happens. It is now a race against time while they wait for the call and hope that her CVC site remains intact. When the family went to SickKids, their social worker introduced them to the David Foster Foundation. Due to Bella’s complex medical needs, the family has a lot of additional expenses involved with attending appointments at home in Saskatchewan, at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, AB, and at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, ON. In addition to these transplant expenses, Kyla has given up her full-time teaching career to care for Bella. The Foundation has been able to assist the family with the costs of attending these appointments, so they do not strain the family. Waiting for a transplant has greatly impacted the family. “It has affected our ability to plan for our family and be able to enjoy life without this heavy weight in the back of our minds. Everything is harder to handle as it has to revolve around the possibility of receiving the call at any moment. Emotionally Bella is very excited to receive her new bowels. She knows very well how it will change her life for the better. So, she is very positive about it and looks forward to the bowel transplant. For myself and my husband Lyle, we feel like we are in a constant state of ‘what if.’ And the mental toll that takes on us is something we battle every day,” Kyla reveals.
In May, Bella and Kyla joined the David Foster Foundation for 'A Night On Broadway' at Hotel X Toronto. Kyla and Bella took over the Foundation's social media to share a behind scenes look at the event taking place after a two-year hiatus. Bella was the belle of the ball and stole the spotlight after singer Jessica Vosk spotted her dancing in the audience. Jessica had Bella join her on stage for a performance of her lifetime! Kyla and Bella run an Instagram account that has nearly 100K and a TikTok account that has 4M followers! Make sure to follow along with their adventures at @kylact.
To date, Bella has spent over 850 days in the hospital and has had 23 surgeries due to her bowel disease and other rare conditions. She is fed via TPN, which is a method of feeding that bypasses the gastrointestinal tract. Kyla has been trained to run these IVs every second night. Bella is at risk of dehydration due to her bowels dumping fluids, so some nights Kyla also has to include IV replacement fluids. Bella also has two daily injections of medications that support her bowel function and CVC site function. They need to go to their local hospital weekly for check-ins with Bella’s local Pediatrician and Bella also requires vitamin supplements daily. Apart from that, Bella has an ileostomy and Gtube button which needs daily care too. Despite all Bella’s care needs, Kyla shares that “the hardest part is having to cancel outings or not enjoy experiences together due to Bella’s medical needs. It hurts when we must be separated so much living an intense medical life for our daughter.” Today Bella is happy to be feeling well enough to go to school and enjoy life with friends and family. Her days in hospital have lessened and she can spend more time doing what she loves as a kid because her medical teams have helped the family manage her bowels so well while they wait for the call. Kyla notes that “there are hard days, but I am happy that recently there has been less of them. Making the wait a little easier.”
Bella has spent over 850 days in the hospital and has had 23 surgeries due to her bowel disease and other rare conditions. She is fed via TPN, and has two daily injections of medications that support her bowel function and CVC site funtion.
