Help our sweet Ellie fight the battle of her life
Donation protected
Hi! I'm Natalie. I am reaching out for help on behalf of my neice Jess. This is absolutely devastating & I hope you will all take the time to read this ❤️
Any and all funds raised will go towards helping her parents take time off work to be present with her at sick kids for the next two years. Funds will go towards travel expenses to get to and from all appointments at sick kids Toronto (2 hours away from home), accommodations for week long stays, food and keeping the bills at home paid. Along with being bed side, Ellie had a 1 year old brother Weston who also needs to be cared for during these times.
From mom:
What started out as a high fever quickly turned into an rsv diagnosis and before we knew it we were admitted to the PRHC and were upping her oxygen intake hour by hour. She progressed quickly from the slow flow tubes to the high flow nasal prongs and we quickly exhausted all of our available options when we maxed out her full face mask oxygen flow. We were then taken by ambulance to sick kids where they did a number of tests including many many blood draws, ultrasounds and x rays. On day 2 at sick kids she was put on a feeding tube because she was on day 5 with no food and no oral fluids. We then got a diagnosis of RSV, Rhinovirus and a UTI. Shortly after, she was put on intense antibiotics and received a blood transfusion and seemed to gradually be getting better.
By day 10 they requested a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy because her cell line (her blood) numbers were still all alarmingly low. She got the procedure on her 4th birthday (December 12th) and we were allowed to return home pending the results. We were told not to be too worried, that they just wanted to double check to make sure they weren’t missing anything. (Possible leukaemia)
By the 13th we had her results back and her numbers had only gotten worse. They requested we come in for a second bone marrow aspiration and biopsy on December 14th. This meant if her number of leukaemia cells had grown that she would officially be diagnosed. On December 16th, just 4 days after her 4th birthday we got the news that no parent ever wants to hear. Ellie was diagnosed with B cell, “ALL” Leukemia. Our worlds have been forever changed. We had one more peaceful day at home with our seemingly healthy baby girl.
We were readmitted today- the morning of December 22nd for a lumbar puncture and her first round of chemo given directly into her spine to stop it from travelling to her spinal fluid and brain. In the afternoon Ellie received her second chemo medication via IV and will continue to be monitored, with 3 more chemo drugs and another lumbar puncture on this weeks schedule. Tomorrow she will receive a port line inserted in her chest to prevent two years worth of needle pokes. Ellie just started JK this year, and we found out today that her treatment will be 2-3 years long, depending on further testing and how the cancer reacts with her treatment protocol. She will be on a cocktail of chemo medications and steroids for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately Ellie will not be able to return to school until into next year as she will be very immune compromised while she receives her treatments. Me and Luke (dad) will both be taking lots time off work to ensure that Ellie makes all of her appointments and has the support she needs through what will surely be the most difficult thing she will ever endure as a young child. Her little brother Weston will be joining us when we can arrange accommodations for both him and dad to try and save some of the travel through the winter months.
For now, our top priority is making sure Ellie has the love and support she needs to stay strong, as well as getting more answers in the coming weeks to further determine her prognosis.
if you have made it this far, THANK YOU.
Please please continue to share & If anyone would like to etransfer, you can transfer to jess directly at
jessica_super_woofer @hotmail.com
Anything helps!
Sending love from the entire Bell family.
Fundraising team (2)
Natalie Campbell
Organizer
Wasaga Beach, ON
Jessica Bell
Beneficiary
Jess Bell
Team member