Help Bella Recover from Hemorrhagic Stroke

Life can change in an instant, and the Fugere family felt this firsthand on October 21st. 12 year old Bella had been off for about a week—headaches, fatigue, and just not herself. Her parents assumed it was from a recent shot, but that Monday was different. She grew dizzy in the shower, and afterward, she came to her Mom, saying, "Mom, I can’t write…my hand won’t work." Tamara watched as her fingers struggled to move, and she could barely complete a sentence. What they thought would be a quick ER visit turned into a nightmare.

The doctor noticed signs that prompted an MRI. Initially, the family thought it was just a precaution, but when they asked for additional images with contrast and then led Bella’s Mom into a private room, her heart sank. The doctor entered with a box of tissues and calmly informed her that my 12-year-old daughter had a large mass on her brain and needed to be airlifted to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

In Houston, a neurosurgeon explained that the mass was too deep for immediate surgery. Bella was admitted to the PICU. The mass isn’t cancerous but a cavernous malformation (CCM), a cluster of blood-intertwined vessels prone to bleeding, which had led to a hemorrhagic stroke.

On December 2, Bella was admitted to the hospital again. Her neurological deficits had worsened even on steroids. An MRI confirmed even more increase in mass, swelling, and fluid. She may be heading into surgery later this week.