Bella was diagnosed with
acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in November 2016. She was just two years old at the time. Her mum, Lisa, tells their story so far:
No signs or symptoms
“You hear all these stories of mothers that knew their child wasn’t themselves but had to battle for doctors to listen to them. Well, what about when your child has no signs or symptoms that there are ill, and the only reason you go to the hospital is due to her falling off a chair? Cancer is the scariest thing anyone could go through, especially when they are only two years of age. To hear that your baby has leukaemia has got to be the hardest thing to hear. Bella really struggled with chemotherapy and we spent month after month in the hospital. When one infection went, she seemed to catch another. At one point I thought this nightmare would never end. After 10 months of intensive chemotherapy which could be up to four doses of chemotherapy a day, Bella went into maintenance chemotherapy.”
Bella’s fourth birthday
“It was Bella’s birthday on Sunday 22nd July and I wanted to share with you the difference a year can make. She is on maintenance chemotherapy which is orally every evening and once a month through her line. She has eight more months to go.”
July 2018Update March 2019 – Bella rings her end of treatment bell!
We’re pleased to announce that on the 29th of March, Bella rang her end of treatment bell! This is the moment we look forward to for every child we support and it’s our goal that every child suffering from cancer gets to ring their end of treatment bell.
Addition by Children with Cancer UKUpdate May 2019
Bella is doing super well, it’s like she’s a totally different child! She’s doing really well at nursery and is walking a lot more now. Her eating is also an improvement. Bella’s port was successfully removed a month ago and I hope we can now start to put this nightmare behind us. Bella was a bridesmaid at our wedding in May which was very special for us all!