On the evening of April 14th, 2026, my niece Isabella Bogart was taken to the ER because she suddenly could not breathe while at softball practice. After numerous tests, Wilson Hospital rushed Bella by ambulance to Upstate Medical Center where she has been since. Yesterday, her bone marrow biopsy confirmed that she has Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). CML is very rare in children and approximately 150 children are diagnosed each year in the United States.

With CML, bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts which do not respond normally, resulting in the production of large amounts of WBCs which do not fight infections. These cells spill into the blood in large numbers, causing a variety of serious symptoms.

Bella is facing the fight of her life. She has also lived with Type 1 diabetes for the last 3 years. Unfortunately, there are no current studies on how her chemo treatment will react with her diabetes. Until the doctors can get her WBC count in a safer range, she will remain at Golisano Children's Hospital for specialized care.

Unfortunately, this means a lot of travel for her mom and dad.

I'm sharing this with you to show my niece and family that they are not alone. They can use all the love and support right now more than ever.

We love you, Isabella! You have an army standing beside you.