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.
has grown into a movement. What advice would you give to other families navigating challenges?
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.
Veronica Stephenson
Anxiety, 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.
How Scholarships Can Help Students Reach Their Full Potential
The CST Foundation honours achievements and fosters innovation to build a brighter future for students.
Melissa Vekil
Joelle Nesdale-Tucker is a recipient of the CST Foundation’s 2023 Founders’ Award. She’s entering her third year at McGill University, studying psychology, sociology, and behavioural science.
Like many of her peers, Nesdale-Tucker worked hard to get into McGill, one of the top-ranked universities in the country. “Both my mom and my uncle graduated from McGill, and they really inspired me to pursue a post-secondary education here,” she says.
Nesdale-Tucker has been keen on studying psychology since the seventh grade. “My main goal is to help people on their mental health journey,” she says. “I’d love to be a therapist or counsellor, and I’m also exploring a career in psychometrics to work with patients with neurological disorders.”
Helping students reach their full potential Nesdale-Tucker’s dream of helping people requires many levels of higher education. With ever-rising tuition and higher prices for food, housing, and other necessities, the financial burden of pursuing post-secondary education can be overwhelming.
The CST Foundation aims to alleviate this burden. “Our vision is a Canada where all learners receive the support that they need to realize their full potential,” says Sherry
$2M+ Awarded in scholarships and bursaries $1M+
Awarded in partnerships with learningfocused community organizations 600,000+
Total families impacted through CST initiatives
MacDonald, President and CEO of the CST Foundation. “We believe that education is critical to success in an individual’s life, career, and family.”
Since 1960, the CST Foundation has awarded over $2 million to more than 600,000 Canadian post-secondary students like Nesdale-Tucker. The foundation offers two different types of awards: Bursary Awards of $6,000 for students who have completed high school and are starting post-secondary education for the first time, and Founders’ Awards of $7,000 for those who have benefited from a Canadian Scholarship Trust RESP and are starting post-secondary studies. Scholarships and grants make education more accessible, reduce financial burdens like student loans and debt, and also provide flexibility for different educational expenses, such as books, supplies, and living expenses.
For Nesdale-Tucker, the grant means she can pursue her goal of being a psychology research assistant next semester. “It’s an unpaid position that I couldn’t do before because I need the income from my part-time job,” she says, “but receiving the CST Founders’ Award makes this exciting opportunity possible.”
Beyond the monetary benefits, Nesdale-Tucker has also noticed a positive shift in her mindset since the grant. “The grant has minimized my financial stress and helped clear my
mind, allowing me to focus more on my studies,” she explains.
Try to block out the noise and just pursue something you’re interested in. If you don’t like it, changing paths isn’t the end of the world!
From aspirations to achievements Nesdale-Tucker offers some valuable advice for young Canadians who are considering higher education.
“There’s so much pressure to figure out what you want to do when you’re entering university,” she says. “Try to block out the noise and just pursue something you’re interested in. If you don’t like it, changing paths isn’t the end of the world!”
What’s next for Nesdale-Tucker?
After finishing her undergraduate degree, she’s going to pursue a master’s degree in psychology. She then wants to quickly get situated in the workforce — ideally as a counsellor — to build up real-world experience, and eventually go back to school for her PhD.
How Omnipod® Simplifies Life for Kids
The Omnipod DASH® Insulin Management System simplifies life with diabetes for both children and their caregivers.
Tania Amardeil
The magic of being a child is all about spontaneity and adventure. It’s about believing in fairytales, wonder, and the extraordinary. It’s building forts, jumping in puddles, climbing trees, and playing dress-up. Freedom, discovery, and following dreams — these are the special, joyful ingredients of childhood.
For children living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), it takes a little more care and effort to enable a life of fun and ease. Fortunately, the Omnipod DASH® Insulin Management System can help.
A challenging diagnosis
Oftentimes, receiving a T1D diagnosis is the hardest day of a family’s life. No one wants to hear that their precious, carefree child will be saddled with a chronic condition for the rest of their lives. The diagnosis itself can be scary — as it typically involves blood tests and sometimes hospitalization — and the prognosis is daunting, too. Parents look anxiously to a future that they expect will be burdened by constant monitoring of their child’s blood glucose levels, health care challenges, visits to the doctor, and uncomfortable treatments. And all children diagnosed with T1D start out with multiple daily insulin injections, which can be quite challenging.
Fortunately, other options are available. After approximately one year, families have the option of transitioning to an insulin pump.
As soon as Romey could get an Omnipod, we wanted to switch as it fit her lifestyle and also ours.
Relieving the burden of multiple daily insulin injections
An insulin pump can simplify diabetes management for children and their families. It reduces the number of multiple daily insulin injections and provides more flexibility by allowing users to customize insulin amounts, based on their needs. And as the only tubeless insulin pump
delivery system in Canada, Omnipod® offers freedom from tubes and multiple daily injections.
“Omnipod’s tubeless feature is the main reason I personally made the switch years ago,” says Alyssa Tangerine, Consumer and Community Marketing Manager at Insulet Canada (the markers of Omnipod), who also lives with T1D. “It’s also waterproof*, so you can jump in and out of the lake or the pool without interruptions. It’s one less thing to think about in a day filled with so many other diabetes-related decisions.”
Allowing kids to be kids
Omnipod is small** and lightweight and provides non-stop insulin delivery for up to 72 hours. It’s also wireless, connecting via Bluetooth to the Personal Diabetes Manager — a durable touchscreen device that makes delivering insulin a cinch.
“As a user myself, I can say that our system is really simple to use,” says Alyssa. “The hands-free insertion of the cannula made a big difference for me personally. It makes site changes really easy.”
Omnipod can be worn on the back of the arm, the abdomen, the upper outside of the leg, the lower back, and the upper buttocks area, giving plenty of choice for active kids. Kids can show it off if they want to, but they don’t have to either. Omnipod gives kids the choice to speak about their diabetes on their own terms.
Shining on the ice thanks to Omnipod
Remy was diagnosed with T1D shortly before his second birthday. “We have no history of T1D in either my family or my wife Anna’s side of the family, so it was a bit of a shock,” says his dad, Joe. “Luckily, we caught it pretty quickly.”
Now 10 years old, Remy is an extraordinary hockey goaltender who’s defying the limitations imposed by T1D. His impressive performances in highly competitive AAA tournaments have earned him recognition and respect in the youth hockey community.
Remy is able to shine on the ice and to pursue his dreams thanks in part to his Omnipod. “Remy has always been a very active child, and I don’t think he could have any other kind of pump that has tubes hanging out,” says Joe. “He would be getting caught up all the time. Omnipod really suits him well.” “When he’s on the ice, having Omnipod allows us to
make insulin adjustments from the stands†,” adds Anna. “It makes our lives so much easier.”
When he’s on the ice, having Omnipod allows us to make insulin adjustments from the stands †. It makes our lives so much easier.
A game-changing device
For Romey, an active seven-year-old who loves to dance, play T-ball, and do gym nastics, Omnipod has similarly been a game-changer. “Romey’s a busy go-getter,” says her dad, Michael. “She hasn’t let T1D slow her down one bit.”
Diagnosed at just 18 months old, Romey exhibited impressive resilience from the very beginning. “Sometimes her strength gave us strength, because it was so painful having to pin her down to give her injections,” says her mom, Jeminee.
“As soon as Romey could get an Omnipod, we wanted to switch as it fit her lifestyle and also ours,” says Michael. “It has made a significant improvement in our lives. She’s able to play and do what she wants, and we can give her insulin from afar.”
With Omnipod, kids can enjoy the special moments that define childhood — like going for sleepovers and eating birthday cake — and families can make memories that will last a lifetime. The freedom it affords families is simply priceless.
*ThePodhasawaterproofIP28ratingofup to7.6metres(25feet)forupto60minutes. ThePersonalDiabetesManager(PDM)isnot waterproof.
**PodDimensions:3.9cmwidex5.2cmlong x1.45cmhigh(1.53”widex2.05”longx0.57” high)
†Duringnormaloperation:Within1.5metres(5 feet)ofeachother.Dependingonthelocation, thecommunicationdistancemayhandle separationsupto15metres(50feet)away.
