The summer before kindergarten, Bella Fakih got sick. On May 31, 2012, Bella came down with a sudden illness; her tummy hurt; and she couldn’t keep any food down. After a misdiagnosis of gastroenteritis from a local emergency room; a visit to Sparrow's Pediatric Emergency room confirmed the worst: Bella was in serious condition. Not only was she suffering from a hernia, but her bowel had gone through the perforation. It was unclear from the CAT scan how much damage had been done.
Bella needed surgery. Sparrow’s Children’s Center physicians, Drs. Jona and Guertin, who treated Bella, told her anxious parents that 10 feet of her small bowel had been strangulated and appeared to be dead. It was possible that Bella would need a complete small bowel transplant. Fortunately, Dr. Guertin and Dr. Jona decided to give Bella’s bowels time to revive. Miraculously, all but two feet of Bella's bowel came back to life.
It should have been the beginning of the end of Bella’s struggle. But it wasn’t. Bella stayed in the Sparrow Children’s Center for 3 weeks; she would only be released upon proof that her bowel was capable of producing stool. However, unfortunately, a small segment of her intestines had narrowed making eating impossible; her intestines still needed to recover. Bella was sent home on IV nutrition, drinking only water and awaiting a final surgery to remove the narrowed segment and reverse her ileostomy.
After a week and a half, it was apparent that Bella’s stomach was swelling; she wasn't able to pass anything that remained in her abdomen. On July 4, Bella underwent surgery again, to reverse the ileostomy and removed the narrowed segment of bowel. Again, she was sent home for recovery, and again, it was clear that the surgery had not worked.
Bella was brought back to Sparrow Pediatric Emergency Room with a bowel obstruction, and it wasn't clear what was causing it. Bella started to struggle again, and it seemed that another surgery was the only option. Unfortunately, it was too short of window to safely conduct another surgery; Bella would have to wait at least 6 weeks for her surgical relief. In the meantime, Bella required a tube down her nose to suction out her stomach contents.
Bella couldn't go home; it was the longest 6 weeks of her life. The final surgery removed another 8 inches of intestines that functioning properly. In total, she lost just less than three feet of small bowel. Bella was discharged on August 30, turned 5 years old a few days later, and started kindergarten that September.
Today, Bella has no lasting effects from the loss of her small bowel. She is able to absorb nutrients through food just fine and is able to eat whatever she wants. Aside from her scars, it is like it never happened. Though Bella lost 3 months of her life and 3 feet of small bowel, she gained so much more than she lost. Bella gained compassion for others out of the compassion shown to her, new friendships that brightened her painful days, and pride for herself and her story. It’s easy to see why Bella Fakih was Sparrow Children’s Center Miracle Child for 2013.
Bella needed surgery. Sparrow’s Children’s Center physicians, Drs. Jona and Guertin, who treated Bella, told her anxious parents that 10 feet of her small bowel had been strangulated and appeared to be dead. It was possible that Bella would need a complete small bowel transplant. Fortunately, Dr. Guertin and Dr. Jona decided to give Bella’s bowels time to revive. Miraculously, all but two feet of Bella's bowel came back to life.
It should have been the beginning of the end of Bella’s struggle. But it wasn’t. Bella stayed in the Sparrow Children’s Center for 3 weeks; she would only be released upon proof that her bowel was capable of producing stool. However, unfortunately, a small segment of her intestines had narrowed making eating impossible; her intestines still needed to recover. Bella was sent home on IV nutrition, drinking only water and awaiting a final surgery to remove the narrowed segment and reverse her ileostomy.
After a week and a half, it was apparent that Bella’s stomach was swelling; she wasn't able to pass anything that remained in her abdomen. On July 4, Bella underwent surgery again, to reverse the ileostomy and removed the narrowed segment of bowel. Again, she was sent home for recovery, and again, it was clear that the surgery had not worked.
Bella was brought back to Sparrow Pediatric Emergency Room with a bowel obstruction, and it wasn't clear what was causing it. Bella started to struggle again, and it seemed that another surgery was the only option. Unfortunately, it was too short of window to safely conduct another surgery; Bella would have to wait at least 6 weeks for her surgical relief. In the meantime, Bella required a tube down her nose to suction out her stomach contents.
Bella couldn't go home; it was the longest 6 weeks of her life. The final surgery removed another 8 inches of intestines that functioning properly. In total, she lost just less than three feet of small bowel. Bella was discharged on August 30, turned 5 years old a few days later, and started kindergarten that September.
Today, Bella has no lasting effects from the loss of her small bowel. She is able to absorb nutrients through food just fine and is able to eat whatever she wants. Aside from her scars, it is like it never happened. Though Bella lost 3 months of her life and 3 feet of small bowel, she gained so much more than she lost. Bella gained compassion for others out of the compassion shown to her, new friendships that brightened her painful days, and pride for herself and her story. It’s easy to see why Bella Fakih was Sparrow Children’s Center Miracle Child for 2013.