SEPTEMBER 2023 | HEALTHINSIGHT.CA
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A SPECIAL INTEREST SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET
Children’s Health & Wellness BELLABRAVE:
A Journey of Hope, Resilience, and Inspiration Through Medical Challenges Discover the remarkable journey of BellaBrave, a young advocate who defies the odds with strength and courage. Through her rare medical conditions, surgeries, and a life-saving transplant, Bella and her family share a message of hope, positivity, and empowerment for all facing challenges. Bella’s story has touched so many lives. For those who might be new to Bella’s journey, could you give us a brief overview of her story? For those new to Bella, she is best known as BellaBrave. My daughter has needed to live in hospital for many long-term stays due to the rare conditions she was born with; Long Segment Hirschsprung’s disease, dwarfism and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency. After being listed for transplant in 2020 due to bowel failure and loss of vascular access, Bella recently received her life saving bowel transplant and is currently recovering at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
Your advocacy is powerful. In sharing Bella and your family’s experiences, what message or insights do you hope to convey to the public? I hope we can convey a message of hope and perseverance to anyone going through something really challenging, whether it be medic-
ally related or not. I have followed Bella’s lead on displaying her bravery in hopes to encourage other kiddos that might be scared or worried about hospitals and surgeries. From her resilience I aim to encourage other medical caregivers to find joy and strength where they can on these difficult roads. I also hope to advocate for all other donor and recipient families and all they endure from both sides.
Bella’s journey is an inspiration. Can you share an instance where Bella’s strength and resilience have amazed you? Bella has gone through roughly 30 surgeries in her 9 years of life so far. Some have been very emergent and scary and others planned. But for every one she has never been fearful or scared. This truly amazes me. She is so smart and fully knows how each procedure benefits her or helps her and she focuses on that. She brings positivity to situations where average kiddos would most likely be crying in fear.
BellaBrave has grown into a movement. What advice would you give to other families navigating challenges?
Read more about BellaBrave and her journey at healthinsight.ca.
I hope our story can uplift and support other families and people like us. I hope that my daughter can portray what it means to be brave and in turn that helps other kiddos get through real, hard things. And as a movement, my hope is that people in similar situations gain more support because our BellaBrave movement has helped this world better understand what kids and families with rare disease go through.
Bella, what is one exciting or memorable moment that stands out for you? Bella: When the famous singer Halsey sent me a gift. She recently messaged my mom after hearing about my bowel transplant and wants to send me another care-package. So I am excited for that.
Empowering Children and Youth: CDI’s 114-year legacy For more than 100 years, CDI has helped fill a gap in children’s mental health services with free, accessible programming.
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Veronica Stephenson
Andrew Reddin CEO, Child Development Institute
nxiety, depression, trauma-related behavioural challenges, and other mental health issues are on the rise — including in very young children under the age of six. “Up to one in five children in Ontario experience challenges in mental health, and concerningly, for the majority of those children, their needs go untreated,” says Andrew Reddin, CEO of the Toronto-based Child Development Institute (CDI), a registered charity that provides free mental health services to at-risk children and youth. “That speaks to the profound shortfall in addressing these needs, which can result in a host of negative impacts on their quality of life and future prospects.” The pandemic is among the factors having a major impact on
children’s mental health, from its lasting, pernicious impact on community supports to an associated increase in domestic violence. Many children and their families are still reeling from its effects, and adequate, accessible mental health support is proving more important than ever.
There is help available Some of the most vulnerable children impacted by mental health challenges belong to underserved communities, including those from BIPOC and lower-income families. But there is fully-funded support available. For more than 100 years, CDI has helped fill a crucial gap by supporting children, youth and their families in overcoming mental health challenges in spite of significant societal barriers. CDI’s latest (2023) data showed that 85 per cent of chil-
dren who complete treatment have demonstrated positive outcomes. CDI offers robust, evidence-based programming that spans child and youth mental health services (social, emotional, and behavioural counseling), mental health and learning disabilities counseling, and genderbased violence services. It also provides an Early Years program and child care centered on child-initiated play and exploration opportunities. CDI works with community organizations across Canada and worldwide to implement its Stop Now and Plan (SNAP®) and Mothers in Mind (MIM®) programs; these affiliates offer accessible, evidence-based programming in their communities. “We work to help build the capacity of the field by sharing what we're learning through our evidence-based programs with other service providers,” says Reddin.
To learn more about CDI’s services, research, or its 114-year legacy, visit childdevelop.ca. This article was sponsored by the Child Development Institute.
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Publisher: Elizabeth Ashfield Business Development Manager: Karim Jooma Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Production Lead: Michael Taylor Creative Lead: Kylie Armishaw Web Editor: Christina Morgan Digital Media Coordinator: Kristen Neals Digital Traffic Strategist: Karm Rathod This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Toronto Star or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.