Bella Malm was diagnosed with Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in May 2022, aged 5, this is a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer. After a gruelling 2 years of intense chemotherapy treatment Bella heroically finished her treatment in May 2024. Bella regained the life she so much missed, attending school, parties and making up for lost time with friends and family that she had missed so much.

In November 2024 Bella started to complain about a pain in her stomach and aching in her legs, a visit to Noah’s Ark Childrens Hospital on the 18th November 2024 confirmed that devastatingly, Bella had relapsed.

The following days were incredibly tough, Bella was transferred to the children’s intensive care unit, her oxygen levels had significantly dropped due to a high white blood cell count, and she was sedated and placed on a ventilator where the medical team carried out a procedure called Apherisis. This technique is used to filter the abnormally high white blood cells from the blood and return balanced healthy blood back into the body. This process was crucial to prevent further life threatening complications. Bella spent 5 days in intensive care and was then stable enough to be transferred to Rainbow Ward, which is the oncology ward in Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital. Following this Bella has been receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments.

Unfortunately, chemotherapy isn’t enough to fight this aggressive blood cancer. Bella needed a Stem Cell Transplant to give her the best chance of life. Thankfully, she was fortunate enough to find a donor within the global register. However, the transplant couldn’t be performed in Cardiff where Bella and her family live. Bella will receive her transplant at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, this has meant that Bella and her parents have moved to Sheffield leaving behind big sister Amber who is just 12.

Bella has now completed the conditioning part of her treatment in Sheffield to condition her body ready to receive the transplant on the 6th May. The conditioning part of the treatment required Bella to receive 6 sessions of Total Body Irradiation (radiotherapy) and intense chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant. It’s been estimated Bella and her parents will be in Sheffield between 3 to 5 months.

There are a catalogue of short and long term health risks that will need to be monitored closely. Therefore it’s imperative that the team in Sheffield fulfil regular follow ups post transplant. There is a long road to recovery to regain her immune system and strength.

Both Henry and Karina have made the heartbreaking decision to move to Sheffield so they can be by Bella’s side during this critical time. As you can imagine, this has placed a huge strain on the family.

Pizzeria Villaggio has always been proud to be part of a supportive and caring community, and now, we’re asking for your help. We’re rallying around this wonderful family and asking our friends, customers, and the wider community to do the same.

Please, if you can, donate whatever you’re able to through this GoFundMe page. Every contribution, no matter the size, will go directly toward helping Henry, Karina, and their daughters through this incredibly challenging journey.

Together, we can give them the strength, hope, and support they need.

Thank you from all of us at Pizzeria Villaggio.