Bella's Journey
Donation protected
My ten year old daughter, Bella, is an outgoing, imaginative, and compassionate young lady who loves Jesus, her dog (Trixie), her family (including her 13 year old brother and older sisters, aged 23 & 26), and Taylor Swift. The father of my children passed away five years ago & our family has already been through a lot even before Bella got sick.
Her story is a remarkable testimony to the healing power of prayer and the love of Christ – and her journey isn’t over yet. I thank you for taking time to consider contributing to Bella’s recovery from a life-altering brain injury.
On February 13, 2019 at 6:40 am, my family’s lives were brought to a standstill. My daughter was perfectly healthy when I put her bed the night before, but she became unresponsive when her grandfather & I tried to wake her up for school that morning.
Her grandfather & I were able to get her to the local ER in Wylie, where they told us that the CT scan revealed that the entire left side of her brain was covered in blood, with the cause unknown.
Within the hour, found myself in a helicopter with my daughter on a ventilator on our way to Children’s Hospital in Dallas. As I looked helplessly at my child, I couldn’t help wondering how I could have failed so drastically as a mother in order for my daughter to have gone from being perfectly healthy to being in critical condition. Mercifully, it turns out that there weren’t any “signs” that I missed and there was no way of knowing that this would happen.
Bella was in a medically induced coma for several weeks with the pressure in her brain spiking to frightening levels. My family and I watched in horror as an inconceivable amount of blood that drained from a shunt in my daughter’s skull. As a result of the bleed, Bella was paralyzed on the right side and the doctors were unsure of the extent of the brain damage and cognitive deficiencies that would result from the trauma.
Bella’s official diagnosis was a congenital condition called AVM, which means that her blood vessels were formed in a tangle at her brain stem, as opposed to connecting together as usual. God has been overwhelmingly faithful throughout this entire life-altering ordeal and NONE of us (most obviously Bella), would have made it this far without His love, trustworthiness, and willingness to answer the cries of those who have petitioned Him on Bella’s behalf for total healing. Bella’s last CT (on April 5th) showed NO signs of AVM and have left the doctors unsure as to what exactly caused the brain bleed, but it’s difficult to deny that there had been divine intervention and a direct answer to prayer.
Bella is currently going through intensive inpatient therapy in order to regain full mobility on her right side and while she is taking assisted steps now, her speech and cognitive abilities are returning at a much slower pace.
As my children’s only living parent and the sole breadwinner of my household, I have been on unpaid FMLA since Bella’s injury. I am a fifth grade reading teacher teacher and I am unsure as to when I will be able to return to work, as there is no way to predict the level of care that Bella will need for the next six months to a year.
It is truly a humbling experience to have to ask for financial assistance – I find it MUCH more comfortable to be on the giving end than the receiving end. However, I am asking for financial assistance for the sake of my family and I would consider any financial contribution a blessing, and no amount is too small.
The Lord has been so faithful to provide for my family and I do ask that you pray before you give. All funds will go towards supporting our household, as well as paying for Bella’s medical care and outpatient physical therapy.
This has been THE hardest road that the Lord has ever asked my family to walk down and I have spent a lot of time asking Him “why” this has happened. However. The “why” isn’t as important as the “who”, and the “who” is Christ Jesus, who has promised to turn all of our suffering into a testimony for His love, faithfulness, and the healing power of prayer. Thanks again for taking time to read about my daughter’s journey.
Her story is a remarkable testimony to the healing power of prayer and the love of Christ – and her journey isn’t over yet. I thank you for taking time to consider contributing to Bella’s recovery from a life-altering brain injury.
On February 13, 2019 at 6:40 am, my family’s lives were brought to a standstill. My daughter was perfectly healthy when I put her bed the night before, but she became unresponsive when her grandfather & I tried to wake her up for school that morning.
Her grandfather & I were able to get her to the local ER in Wylie, where they told us that the CT scan revealed that the entire left side of her brain was covered in blood, with the cause unknown.
Within the hour, found myself in a helicopter with my daughter on a ventilator on our way to Children’s Hospital in Dallas. As I looked helplessly at my child, I couldn’t help wondering how I could have failed so drastically as a mother in order for my daughter to have gone from being perfectly healthy to being in critical condition. Mercifully, it turns out that there weren’t any “signs” that I missed and there was no way of knowing that this would happen.
Bella was in a medically induced coma for several weeks with the pressure in her brain spiking to frightening levels. My family and I watched in horror as an inconceivable amount of blood that drained from a shunt in my daughter’s skull. As a result of the bleed, Bella was paralyzed on the right side and the doctors were unsure of the extent of the brain damage and cognitive deficiencies that would result from the trauma.
Bella’s official diagnosis was a congenital condition called AVM, which means that her blood vessels were formed in a tangle at her brain stem, as opposed to connecting together as usual. God has been overwhelmingly faithful throughout this entire life-altering ordeal and NONE of us (most obviously Bella), would have made it this far without His love, trustworthiness, and willingness to answer the cries of those who have petitioned Him on Bella’s behalf for total healing. Bella’s last CT (on April 5th) showed NO signs of AVM and have left the doctors unsure as to what exactly caused the brain bleed, but it’s difficult to deny that there had been divine intervention and a direct answer to prayer.
Bella is currently going through intensive inpatient therapy in order to regain full mobility on her right side and while she is taking assisted steps now, her speech and cognitive abilities are returning at a much slower pace.
As my children’s only living parent and the sole breadwinner of my household, I have been on unpaid FMLA since Bella’s injury. I am a fifth grade reading teacher teacher and I am unsure as to when I will be able to return to work, as there is no way to predict the level of care that Bella will need for the next six months to a year.
It is truly a humbling experience to have to ask for financial assistance – I find it MUCH more comfortable to be on the giving end than the receiving end. However, I am asking for financial assistance for the sake of my family and I would consider any financial contribution a blessing, and no amount is too small.
The Lord has been so faithful to provide for my family and I do ask that you pray before you give. All funds will go towards supporting our household, as well as paying for Bella’s medical care and outpatient physical therapy.
This has been THE hardest road that the Lord has ever asked my family to walk down and I have spent a lot of time asking Him “why” this has happened. However. The “why” isn’t as important as the “who”, and the “who” is Christ Jesus, who has promised to turn all of our suffering into a testimony for His love, faithfulness, and the healing power of prayer. Thanks again for taking time to read about my daughter’s journey.
Organizer
Elizabeth Court
Organizer
Wylie, TX
