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Bella's Transplant Journey
CELEBRATE
the Gift of Life
SUMMER 2022 | VOLUME 37
Bella's Transplant Journey Message from the Chairman Message from the CEO
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Message from the SVP,
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Fund Development Message from the Director
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of Family Relations Bella's Transplant Journey Continued 4 Gold Mining with Avenue Family Dental 6 Sharing Smiles this Summer 7 A Night On Broadway Raises 8 Record-breaking $11.2 Million! 2022 Visionary Award Winners 10 Partner Spotlight: 11 The Simon Keith Foundation
Thank You to All Our Partners 11
Thank You! A Night On Broadway 12 in Partnership with Hotel X Toronto
212 HENRY ST., VICTORIA, BC V9A 3H9 OFFICE: 250.475.1223 FAX: 250.475.1193 TOLL FREE: 1.877.777.7675
DAVIDFOSTERFOUNDATION.COM
Bella and Kyla Thomson walking the purple carpet at A Night on Broadway!
Bella’s Transplant Journey
August 2022 will mark two full years of waiting Bella for the Thomson family. It will mark two years TRANSPLANT of hearing the phone ring and wondering if it is NEEDED: BOWEL a medical professional calling to say that they HOME: SWIFT CURRENT, SK have matched Bella to a bowel donor who will save her life. Two years of always trying to remain positive but always having the “what-ifs” at the back of their mind.
Bella was born in 2013 and Kyla and Lyle were overjoyed to welcome their first child. At only three days old, Bella was air ambulanced to the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, SK as she was continuously vomiting and obviously suffering from painful distension. Bella was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, which is a disease that affects an infant’s intestines and makes it impossible for them to have bowel movements. She was rushed into an emergency surgery that the medical team hoped would improve her quality of life. Unfortunately, the procedure did not work, and Bella would remain in the hospital for the first two years of her life. During these two years, Kyla and Lyle also learned that Bella was born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and a form of dwarfism called cartilage hair hypoplasia. On top of all of this, she needed to have a bone marrow transplant when she was just a year old due to her SCID diagnosis.
