TikTok star Bella Brave, 10, is in medically-induced coma after chronically-ill youngster suffered sudden health decline
A 10-year-old TikTok star is in a medically-induced coma after the chronically-ill youngster suffered a sudden health decline.
Bella Thompson, known to her fans as Bella Brave, was born with three debilitating genetic conditions - which saw her hospitalized for the first two years of her life.
Her mother, Kyla, started posting about the girl's struggles in 2014, and said she had thought her daughter would no longer have to have long hospital stays following a bowel transplant last year.
But on Wednesday, Kyla posted on Instagram that she was placed in a medically-induced coma after contracting a viral infection in her lungs.
'They told us they don't know if she'll survive this,' the heartbroken mother wrote.
Bella Thompson, also known as Bella Brave, was placed in a medically-induced coma after she suffered a sudden health decline
She explained in an earlier post that Bella had contracted a virus, and may have developed Bronchiolitis Obliterans - a condition that results in the obstruction of the smallest airways of the lungs due to inflammation.
The American Lung Association describes it as an 'irreversible and chronic condition' that is also known as 'popcorn lung.'
The young girl was then put on oxygen, as doctors at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada worked to get her better.
'All of the teams, especially our head of transplant doc have reached out internationally to other colleagues to help solve this issue for Bella,' Kyla wrote on Sunday, sharing photos of her daughter hooked up to a slew of machines.
'Knowing she is the only child they have ever seen with this combo of rare diseases and transplants, it is not lost on them to look to other specialists across the globe, and so they have.'
But two days later, Kyla posted in an update that although Bella was at first 'sitting up, chatty,' she began to struggle.
'She lost four pounds in one day, putting all her energy into breathing,' she wrote.
Her mother, Kyla, has detailed her daughter's condition in a series of Instagram posts
She said they are reading 'all the cards, letters and messages' Bella's fans have sent
Kyla, a former public school teacher who became her daughter's full-time caretaker, explained that Bella's carbon dioxide levels increased and 'she started to doze off and have delirium.
'She was alert enough to tell me I turned into a piece of bread, but also knew she was at SickKids hospital in Toronto,' Kyla wrote, sharing inspirational quotes.
'They knew at that point they needed to sedate her and intubate her before she crashed.
'We left having them tell us they didn't know if she'll make it through the night,' Kyla continued. 'But she did.'
The next day, however, Bella was placed in the medically-induced coma as Kyla said, 'The best of the best were telling us it looked really bad.
'But I kept a lifted stare, intensely listening until I heard what hope there was left that we could hang onto.'
She said the doctors told her there had been a rapid deterioration of Bella's lungs, which they believed could be an immune response.
To help solve the issue, Bella was placed on a large dose of steroids - which she called the 'one option they have left to help her lungs work again.'
Kyla also noted that she and Bella's father, Lyle, 'talk to her' and play music for her
Bella took the steroids for two days, and Kyla said, 'Day three will give us more information on how soon we could see her lung function improve.
'She's stable, and that in itself is the improvement for now,' she added.
By Thursday, Kyla said Bella was showing signs of improvement.
'Two days ago, they were preparing us for her not to survive,' she told People Magazine.
'But today they've told us she's shown she is fighting and actually shows improvements.'
Still, Kyla said, 'We are not out of the woods.'
'This could take weeks, but we are holding on to hope for her and never letting go.
'She's showing us she's fighting and she will make it out of this.'
Bella has been placed on a large dose of steroids - which her mom called the 'one option they have left to help her lungs work again'
Bella was diagnosed with three genetic conditions shortly after she was born, including Hirschprung's disease - which causes problems passing stool - and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID).
Kyla previously explained that Bella's severe medical needs became apparent when she was just three-days-old.
'We were told that Bella suffered from a bowel disease called Hirschsprung, where parts of the colon are dead,' she recounted in 2022.
'The condition is caused by a genetic mutation and in the first eight months of her life, Bella had three operations to remove the dead parts of her bowel.'
At 11 months, Bella's parents were told she also has SCID - which meant she could die from just catching a common cold.
Again the result of a genetic mutation, after spending two months in isolation in hospital, because she could not risk catching an infection, at 15 months old, she had a bone marrow transplant.
Her third genetic condition, a form of dwarfism called cartilage hair hypoplasia, was also diagnosed around that time.
The bone growth disorder which also causes sparse hair growth and light-colored skin means she still has the physical build of a one-year-old.
Bella was diagnosed with three genetic conditions shortly after she was born, including Hirschprung's disease - which causes problems passing stool - and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID)
Kyla said she first started noticing symptoms when Bella was just three-days-old
To help with the Hirschprung's disease, Bella has had a number of bowel surgeries - including one just last year that her mother said she thought 'was supposed to be the last medical trauma she would ever have to endure.
'She sailed through recovery faster than any child with a bowel transplant has, and finally she could be free of hospital stays,' Kyla told People.
'Now, to see her fight for her life from an unknown cause that the best of the best in the world at SickKids are trying to understand, is heartbreaking.'
She noted in her Instagram posts that she and Lyle, Bella's father, 'talk to her, I play music for her and we are reading all the cards, letters and messages you've all sent.
'We are praying and believe we have stopped the fibrosis attack on her lungs in enough time that still allows her lungs to heal and function again.'
Still, Kyla said, 'The wait is beyond unbearable.'
