Transplant may not be possible for Sask. girl who stole hearts on TikTok

A young Saskatchewan girl that stole the hearts of the province, and millions online, is back in hospital.

Nine-year-old Bella Thompson has spent much of her young life in the hospital, undergoing tests, and dealing with surgeries – much more than many children her age have experienced. She was born with dwarfism, and without an immune system.

Due to her condition, a bowel transplant is needed, but in a social media post earlier this week, mother Kyla had grave news.

“Her teams are very sad to admit the risks now completely outweigh the reward of allowing a bowel transplant to happen for Bella,” the post said.

“We're at SickKids [in Toronto] because they're worried about her vascular access and because it's so fragile and very limited, they're not sure if a bowel transplant is something that will work,” she told CTV News.

Bella’s story took off across TikTok, with over 5.8 million people following Kyla’s account @KylaCT, where she shares updates on the health of her daughter.

Kyla said it has been tough in Toronto, without the help and support of the rest of Bella’s family, back home in Swift Current.

Although the situation looks to be tough, there’s one group that continues to push the young child and mother though: her online following.

“Being able to read Bella those kind messages, when she's exhausted with everything else, really lifts her spirits, and mine as well,” Kyla said.

With much up in the air with Bella’s health, and ultimately, her future, one thing is for certain — there will be millions of fans rooting for her and her family, every step of the way.