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Living Beyond Expectations: Meet Bella and Emma

byDistrict Medical Group/September 12, 2018

(desplazarse hacia abajo para la versión en español)

Bella was adopted when she was three months-old and was on a joey pump, and to everyone’s knowledge, that was her only medical challenge.

After visiting DMG CRS geneticist, Dr. Alec, Bella was diagnosed with Jarcho–Levin syndrome, which can be lethal. She started wearing helmets and had three braces for her back.

When Linda Reed, Bella’s adoptive mother, first received her as a foster child, she was told Bella would not live beyond the age of three.

Linda was faced with a difficult decision sharing with us, “Do I protect my heart and hold back a little or do I love her with all my heart?”

Like most mothers, Linda could not hold back and opened her heart and home to Bella, adopting her. Working closely with DMG CRS providers treating Bella, Linda counts every day with her as a gift, as Bella is now six years-old!

bella-emma-banana
bella-emma-banana
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Linda also fostered and then adopted a second girl, Emma, who came to Linda at the age of two after being in three previous foster homes. Like Bella, Emma had special medical needs and immediately became a patient at DMG CRS. Emma had a trach, so the ventilation classes offered at DMG CRS enabled Linda to learn how to take care of Emma.

Emma’s medical challenges have been beyond complex. She has had six cranial surgeries, as her head had grown out of her forehead as an infant.

In addition, Emma had never eaten, had a drank, talk or walk nor was she potty-trained when she arrived as a foster child at Linda’s home. She needed feeding therapy in addition to other medical treatments.

Thanks to the multi-specialty care at DMG CRS and a loving, committed adoptive mother, Emma has come further than anyone expected.

“She’s now talking, has an amazing memory and runs rampant through our house,” shared Linda recently.

How DMG CRS Helped Bella and Emma and Their Mom

“We love DMG CRS’ robust network of doctors at the clinic. We’re able to have continuity of care because all the doctors talk to each other. The coordination among the healthcare team is vital so we have confidence that they are all on the same page,” said Linda.

She added, “We have found that everyone who works at DMG CRS is very helpful and informative. If they don’t know the answer to my question, they’ll do the research so I have confidence that they really are working on my child’s behalf.”

Superación de las expectativas de vida: Conozca a Bella y Emma

A Bella la adoptaron con sólo 3 meses de edad, conectada a una bomba portable alimenticia joey pump, y según todos, ése era su único problema médico. Tras visitar al genetista de DMG CRS Dr. Alec, a Bella la diagnosticaron con el síndrome Jarcho–Levin que puede ser fatal. Comenzó a usar un casco y tres aparatos ortopédicos en la espalda.
Cuando Linda Reed, la mamá adoptiva de Bella, la recibió en casa en cuidado temporal Foster, le dijeron que no viviría más de los 3 años. Fue entonces que Linda tuvo que afrontar una difícil decisión que compartió con nosotros: “¿Debo proteger mi corazón y abstenerme un poco, o amarla con todo mi corazón?”

Como toda madre, Linda no pudo abstenerse y le abrió las puertas de su corazón y de su hogar a Bella, adoptándola. Ahora lleva a cabo el tratamiento de Bella en conjunto con los proveedores de DMG CRS, y Linda cuenta cada día de vida de Bella como un regalo, ya que ha alcanzado la edad de ¡seis años!

Linda también fue madre temporal Foster de una segunda niña, para después adoptarla; Emma, quien llego a la vida de Linda a la edad de 2 años y tras haber vivido en 3 hogares temporales Foster. Como Bella, Emma tiene necesidades especiales médicas y rápidamente se convirtió en paciente de DMG CRS. Como Emma tiene una traqueotomía, las clases sobre ventilación que ofrece DMG CRS le han permitido a Linda aprender cómo cuidar de Emma.

Los retos médicos por los que ha pasado Emma han sido mucho más que complejos. Ha tenido 6 cirugías de cráneo, ya que de bebé su cabeza creció desproporcionadamente a su frente.

También, cuando Emma llegó a la casa de Linda como niña bajo cuidados temporales Foster, nunca había comido por la boca, tomado líquidos, hablado y no sabía cómo ir al baño ella sola. Necesitó terapia de la alimentación, además de otros tratamientos médicos.

Gracias a los cuidados de especialidades múltiples de DMG CRS y a su amorosa y dedicada madre adoptiva, Emma ha logrado superarse e ir más allá de lo que cualquiera hubiera imaginado.

“Ahora habla, tiene una memoria increíble y corre por toda la casa” nos contó Linda últimamente.

Cómo DMG CRS ayuda a Bella, Emma y a su madre

“Nos encantan las afiliaciones de doctores tan completas que hay en la clínica DMG CRS. Podemos llevar el cuidado médico sin interrupciones porque los médicos se comunican entre sí. La coordinación del equipo médico es vital y confiamos que todos están en sintonía” dijo Linda.

También añade: “Vemos que todos los que trabajan en la clínica DMG CRS son útiles e informativos. Si no saben la respuesta a mi pregunta la investigan, por eso confío que realmente trabajan en nombre de mis niños”.

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