Bella is aged 2 from Burton-on-Trent. She been on a roller coaster since birth. She has faced more in two years than most will in their life time and she has done it all with a smile. She has Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus. She is unable to walk unaided and is behind with her physical milestones.

Bella was born at 29 weeks alongside her identical twin sister Robyn. The girls shared a placenta and suffered from a condition called Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome which led to an imbalance in blood supply and amniotic fluid.

Bella was extremely poorly after birth. She suffered a Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) which starved her brain of oxygen and she was ventilated immediately. She also had an irregular heartbeat from the pressure of the amniotic fluid. A routine head scan showed Bella had bilateral brain bleeds that eventually led to her ventricles becoming enlarged. She developed a condition called hydrocephalus which meant her CSF was not draining. Over the next few weeks we watched on helplessly while her head grew massively. Specialists wanted an MRI but the breathing support was preventing this. Then to make things worse infection hit.

After lots of waiting an MRI was completed and within a few days she was transferred to a neurosurgical hospital to have brain surgery as soon as possible. Surgery was tricky due to her size but it went ahead after a few hiccups. Bellas first shunt (a device in her brain to drain the extra fluid) unfortunately failed after only a few days.

The next few weeks and months were very difficult Bella endured multiple surgeries and had to be attached to a drain that removed fluid from her brain while she overcame infections. She only managed one day at home in all this time and we were blue lighted back in. After 121 days in hospital and 7 brain surgeries Bella made it home for good.

As she grew older we began to notice stiffness on her left arm and her hand was always clasped. We had regular physio and Bellas determination to be mobile meant her progress surprised us all. However, at around 12 months old we also began to notice her legs becoming much stiffer too. After lots of back and forth, Bella was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

We work hard with therapy all the time and she is very determined to be independent and always bossing us around. Unfortunately, although we see our NHS physio periodically, Bella no longer gets regular sessions of physio. Raising funds to support her continued development and aid her desire to walk is crucial. The more we do at this early age the more positive we hope the outcomes can be for her.

Funds raised for Just4Children will enable us to get Bella the crucial support needed to meet her current needs and any future developments in her condition.

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