Bella Brave’s parents, Kyla and Lyle, have been sharing their daughter’s health struggles and contagious joy on TikTok for the past few years.
The 10-year-old battled a rare disease that she was diagnosed with when she was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada 2013. Hirschsprung’s disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a rare bowel disease that is caused by missing nerves in a baby’s colon. The disease makes it difficult to pass stool, and requires surgery and in Bella’s case, years of treatment.
That combined with other immunodeficiency issues caused Bella to be in and out of the hospital her entire life. As a side effect of her disease, the 10-year-old stood at only 3 feet tall, weighing about 30 pounds, roughly the size of a two-year-old.
Last August, Bella received what was supposed to be a life-saving bowel transplant. Her family had hoped that it would mark the end of Bella’s major health struggles and hospital stays. Though the surgery was risky, the family had waited three years to receive it, hoping it would be exactly what Bella needed. Despite the successful transplant, Balla was in and out of the hospital with some health struggles in the year that followed.
In June of 2024, Bella was placed in the hospital once again for an extended stay and received investigative surgery to figure out how doctors could best help her. Unfortunately, her condition worsened and she was placed in a medically induced coma before passing away on July 14, 2024.
In her post, Bella’s mother encouraged their audience to continue Bella’s spirit of bravery and joy after her death, and encouraged her followers to share how her daughter touched their lives through her joy and bravery.
While her family grieves and remembers their daughters 10 short years of life, followers continue to commend Bella’s bravery, promising to never forget how she touched them.