Isabella
Faith Adkinson was born on June 20, 2008 and was "twin B" Just 1
oz smaller than her brother Dax, she was strong and healthy at birth, and we
couldn't have been happier to welcome her (and Dax) to our family.
At 6 months of age, Bella began vomiting randomly and we of course took her to
the Dr. to make sure things were ok. Nothing was noted at first, but over
the next 3 months, it became worse. She was not gaining weight; we had
completed reflux tests, and assorted other tests that were all
"normal".
One visit to the ER turned into a week stay, and then we were back less than a
week later. Bella was only 13 pounds at 9 months old, and no one could
tell us why. The next 3 weeks were agony for us all, especially
Bella. Multiple tests, living at the hospital and separated from Dax....
But after everything was done, we still had no answers. I insisted on
knowing, and was told the only test not run was an MRI. So obviously I
insisted on one.
It only took a short time to find the problem - one that seemed to stun the
entire hospital. Bella had a Grade II Astrocytoma on her brain
stem. At first we were not sure if it would be operable, but thank God
for Dr. Honeycutt and Dr. Acosta who were pro-active and had a plan.
Two days later, Bella had surgery - with multiple complications, she spent the
next month in PICU and then 6 weeks in the transitional care unit. The
biggest challenge she would face was learning to swallow again. Until
then, she had a tracheotomy to help manage her secretions and provide a little
oxygen when needed. She also suffered from "Breath Holding
Spells" which were quite scary, so she had to have 24 hour monitoring.
She came home just 2 days before her first birthday, and was able to celebrate
with her twin brother.
Bella had a long battle to fight to get back to her "normal” life, and
over the next 5 months with the help of nurses and therapists at home, Bella
was doing great. After many months
of therapy and work at home with her nurses and family, she was nearly caught
up to her brother and we were hoping that she would be able to have her
tracheotomy removed after the holidays.
Because of her tracheotomy, she was at HIGH risk for any
illness, especially pneumonia. We kept Bella home - and didn't allow
visitors to be safe.
Unfortunately,
during the shortage of the H1N1 vaccine, which we tried so hard to get for her,
somehow she still contracted H1N1.
Within hours of the first symptoms, Bella developed pneumonia, and
within 5 hours her lungs shut down. She was placed on ECMO and seemed to
be stabilizing and possibly small signs of improvement.
On the 5th day of ECMO, Bella was not responding to stimulation much and seemed
to be very relaxed - almost unresponsive. She fought as hard as she could
to recover. Late that evening we got the news we feared most - the site
of her tumor resection was not able to withstand the ECMO and blood thinners
any longer, and she hemorrhaged The Dr.s told us that if this were to happen,
there was nothing more we could do.
We were able to be with Bella during her last moments, and held her tight as
she passed on to Heaven at only 16 months old. Bella was a beautiful little girl.
She had a spirit so uniquely her that she made anyone who spent time with her
smile. Even after battling a brain tumor at only 9 months old Bella just
made you happy to be near her.
It is in her Honor - and because of her wonderful blessing in our life, that we
are reaching out to help other families while they care for their children.
Bella's Blessing looks forward to being a part of the lives of many wonderful people. Come back often to read their stories.
