“Bella Brave” — the little girl from Swift Current whose story has captured the hearts of millions — has been rushed to the children’s hospital in Saskatoon after she was found unresponsive.
Bella’s mom, Kyla Thompson, explained what happened in a Facebook post Thursday night.
“I woke up to Lyle (Bella’s father) calling for help from Bella’s room,” Thompson said in the post. “She wouldn’t wake up. Her body was limp she couldn’t open her eyes, we called 911. We’ve never had to do that before. The four previous times Bella had gone septic or dealt with anything scary she was already in a hospital or stable enough for us to drive her there before things went downhill.”
I woke up to Lyle calling for help from Bella’s room. She wouldn’t wake up. Her body was limp she couldn’t open her…
Posted by Bella Brave on Thursday, March 14, 2024
Thompson said SVC syndrome is the issue, but might not be the only problem. Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) affects blood flow from the head, neck, arms and chest to the heart.
Bella was born with three rare conditions: A bowel disease called Hirschsprung disease; severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which effects the immune system; and dwarfism.
Bella received life-saving bowel surgery in August.
According to Thompson, Bella is stable.
“It was hard to be brave today,” she wrote.
“Everything hurts. Holding my girl as she cried out, ‘I’m scared, I want to live, I don’t want to die, I want to go home.’ Today broke me. It broke me in ways I didn’t think I had to face any more.”
Thompson posted an update Friday evening.
This is Bella’s first ICU stay in Saskatoon’s Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.
Day 2 in JPCH ICUThis is the first ICU stay in our home province children’s hospital. I was fine with Bella being an…
Posted by Bella Brave on Friday, March 15, 2024
“I was fine with Bella being an ambassador for this amazing hospital and not actually needing it,” read the post. “But unfortunately the rare disease she has, had other plans.”
Bella’s Toronto SickKids team has been checking in and supporting the Saskatoon team. Thompson wrote Bella is in the best hands right now.
They are waiting on test results to fully understand what led to Bella being unresponsive Thursday morning.
Bella has captured the hearts of many. She has shared her medical journey on TikTok for years. She has nearly seven million followers.