Bella’s Battle with Cancer

Isabella was diagnosed with a Stage IV Germ Cell Tumor days after her 4th birthday. After two trips to the emergency department and a 10 day admission at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, it was determined that she was going to require at least four cycles of chemotherapy, each cycle lasting 21 days. While chemo can be delayed if Bella were to have an infection of any kind or if her blood cell counts are too low, we plan to do repeat imaging once the four cycles of chemo are complete to determine if the tumor and metastasis have decreased in size enough to be removed. Due to the location of the tumor, this surgery would be a combined effort between pediatric surgery and neurosurgery. If they are unable to remove all of the tumor surgically, Bella will require additional cycles of chemo.

The sudden and unexpected diagnosis of cancer can be jolting for anybody. Being mom to Bella and her older sister Aiva, a full time student in CRNA school, and a full time RN working in the Intensive Care Unit setting, some adjustments had to be made. With the infection risk that comes with my job working with critically ill patients, I have had to take a leave of absence. While this allows me to provide more emotional support to Bella and Aiva and be more present for them, it has complicated the financial portion of this journey between accumulating medical bills and loss of income.

Anyone who knows Bella knows that she is the epitome of a sour patch kid: one minute she is feisty and stubborn, not letting anyone get in her way, the next she is the sweetest, gentlest snuggle bug who can be goofy enough to make anyone laugh. Throughout her treatment so far, Bella’s personality has not waned; she keeps everyone on their toes between her initial defiance and resistance to procedures, to her sweet little voice asking the doctors and nurses to stay, “Will you play with me?”

Thank you to everyone who has offered their kindness, support, thoughts, and prayers. It has all been incredibly helpful as Bella, Aiva, and I continue to try and wrap our heads around our new reality. #bellawarrior