Fight for Bella

Early the week of June 11th, while visiting her grandmother Pam, Bella was diagnosed and treated for Strep Throat. Three days later, Bella became extremely ill and collapsed. She was then transported by ambulance, where she was given CPR and supplemental oxygen, to the local hospital and then life flighted to Shands ICU. During the flight Bella we given blood and received CPR again.

Upon arrival at Shands ICU, Bella's room was full of doctors, nurses and specialists in every category working to get her stabilized. Her blood pressure became dangerously low and she was febrile while she continued to lose copious amounts of blood. In short, everything that could go wrong was going wrong. All the while, no one was able to determine what was causing Bella to be so ill.

As minutes turned into hours, doctors told Bella's family to prepare themselves because she was not expected to live.

Bella suffered two more cardiac arrests and had to receive two emergency surgeries bedside since she was not stabile enough to transfer to the operating room. During one of the surgeries, it was discovered that Bella's spleen had ruptured (it was later determined that the strep diagnosis was incorrect, Bella had mononucleosis). Subsequently, she suffered from internal bleeding as well as liver, lung and kidney problems.

Thankfully, Bella did survive but remains extremely ill and will need additional surgeries. Instead of celebrating her 18th birthday and beginning her senior year of high school, she is now in the fight of her life because of the stress her body endured. She is currently being kept sedated while her organs begin to function and has a breathing tube, oxygen, dialysis and a pic line for medicine and other nutrients.

Bella has a strong will and a love for life and she is a fighter! She is beginning to show signs of improvement very slowly; each day she makes baby steps that point to recovery. We remain hopeful because now doctors are talking about "when" not "if" she survives this!

A lot is still unknown in Bella's care and even after she wakes, she will remain in the hospital for several months before going to Rehab. Since Bella's family does not live near Gainesville, Jana (Bella's mother) will be renting a place to live close to the hospital so she can be with Bella through her long recovery.

Friends and family have started this GoFundMe to assist with medical and living expenses not covered by insurance. Bella and her family have an incredible journey ahead with a lot of things still undetermined. Many people have asked what they can do to help and this is a small way we can contribute to her recovery. Since flowers aren't allowed in the ICU, please consider a small contribution to this fund instead. Small contributions can really add up to make a big difference for Bella!