Isabella's Journey ♥️
Isabella was born on October 29th, 2019 at Strong Memorial Hospital at 7:16am in the morning. Her battle would soon start when she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition called Tricuspid Atresia Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome. Bella was born with half a heart.
This was detected when Bella was 23 weeks old in utero. After a 14 hour labor her heart rate dropped and Bella's mommy underwent a c-section to bring her beautiful baby into this world.
She did incredibly amazing once she was born and was thriving. At 3 days old she underwent a Cath procedure (cardiac catheterization) to buy her more time, so she could go home, get chunky and come back for her surgery. At 6 days old, she finally went home! She had some wires and tubes, but she was exceeding everyone's expectations.
On January 21st, 2020, she was handed over to her surgeons, at almost 3 months old. The doctors would need to stop her heart in order to fix it.
She survived surgery and was thriving once again! Her chest was still open and she was still paralyzed, but doing amazing.
1 day before she was supposed to be discharged, mommy and daddy left her hospital room for the first time to have some breakfast, and 25 minutes later they got a call - Isabella was in critical condition. Her stats were dropping and they had begun CPR as she was having a cardiac arrest.
45 minutes of CPR didn't revive sweet Isabella, her heart didn't restart so she was placed on ECMO (life support), a machine that bypasses the heart and lungs and oxygenates the blood.
Doctors weren't able to determine brain damage due to the lack of oxygen during those 45 minutes, she was having seizures, and they were not stopping even with medication. They tried taking her off ECMO but it didn't work out, so they put her back on it.
The 5 days following her cardiac arrest were a nightmare. Doctors told her parents that the ECMO was causing too much damage to her body and that if they successfully removed her of off ECMO but needed to put her back on it she'd die on the operating table.
Bella’s mommy and daddy had to make the most selfless decision - even if our Bella came off ECMO, she would not be a candidate for any heart surgeries that were needed in the near future, necessary to keep her alive. The nurses and doctors told us she could be suffering, saying there was a very big chance she would have severe brain damage. Our hearts completely shattered as we watched our Isabella fight for her life. We loved her one last time. Held her one last time, looking into her beautiful face, before removing life support.
Isabella fought so hard. Isabella is a Heart Warrior. She earned her beautiful mermaid tail and angels wings. She was only 3 months old. 97 days. We lost our angel on February 3rd, 2020. Isabella touched the lives of so many in the short 3 months she was with us and still does to this day. She was our Angel sent from above to spread the true meaning of heartfelt love and the purpose of bringing the world closer together.
Our purpose is to continue to spread her story and raise awareness and her love in so many special ways children and families who need it most. ♥️
Her legacy and memory will be shared forever. We will continue to help spread awareness, support chd research, give back to families in need, and remember our heart warrior, Isabella, for the rest of our lives ღ
This is Bella’s Story. Her life. Her memory.
🌈 Forever Remembering ♥️
🕊 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢 🕊
👼 𝟭𝟬/𝟮𝟵/𝟭𝟵-𝟬𝟮/𝟬𝟯/𝟮𝟬 👼
🫀Hearts for Isabella💙
Bella’s original story, written September 2019:
A very special message to our beloved friends and family,
February of 2019 started my brave and exciting adventure. When my mommy took the test, she was speechless! The little pink line was so faint she didn't think it could be true. She couldn't wait to tell Daddy! She surprised him with the news and balloons full of confetti! Pop, pop, pop! The sounds of a miracle! They both had tears of excitement as they knew I would change their lives forever.
When I was 8 weeks, the size of a raspberry, her and daddy saw me for the first time and expected my arrival this coming fall. I was growing and growing!
16 weeks, now the size of an avocado, Pink was in the air when the world found out I was a beautiful baby girl! (Boys have cooties!) Our families and friends surrounded us with such love and excitement! All eyes were on me now, no secrets! I sure was fussy (must have been from mommy’s side!) and very anti-photogenic, covering my face & turning away from the cameras on every visit.
20 weeks in and 20 to go...mommy felt butterfly’s fluttering around. Daddy was jealous! Over the next few weeks mommy was glowing! I was growing bigger and bigger, stronger everyday that went by.
Mommy and daddy were bouncing back and forth names (probably as hard as my kicks!) One special name could not be more beautiful, more pretty, & more perfect...’Isabella Annelise Dombrowski’
23 weeks, now the size of a grapefruit, mommy and daddy took a special trip to Buffalo to meet with a very special lady named Dr. Pratt. All eyes were on me bouncing and jumping around. After my ultrasound, we found out how truly special I am. 1/10,000 special...My heart was beating so strong and the doctor couldn’t stop looking at it. Dr. Pratt, Cardiologist, a leading heart professional in the Buffalo area, shared some unexpected news. Mommy and daddy were scared and found out our lives would change forever once again. Fancy medical terms and lots of tears filled the room as they were told I would be be born with a very rare genetic Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), specifically ‘Tricuspid Atresia, Hypo-plastic Right Heart Syndrome, Ventricular Septal Defect.’ One chamber was missing, but a strong beating heart there still was. Mommy and Daddy were speechless and overwhelmed with questions and concerns. The Dr. explained that we couldn’t fix my special heart, but assured us that we were in good hands & there is a plan and hope for a normal and happy life. Desperate for more answers, mommy and daddy found themselves reaching out to other families and doctors who have experienced this before in hopes of finding out more and what to expect. I could tell mommy and daddy were sad and scared...but were ready to fight right along side each other together through this journey.
With an overwhelmingly loving and supporting family and team of doctors, we didn’t know everything just yet...but knew we would be in good hands with trusting our loved ones and their path to my heart journey and what to expect by surrounding ourselves with family,friends, and leading professionals. ‘Strong Hospital’ in Rochester will be our home for the first part of my life in the NICU and mommy & daddy right with me every step of the way in the Ronald McDonald House.
When I’m born and take my first breath, the doctors will be eager to help me right away by doing my first open heart surgery: PA Band/Balloon Arterial Septostomy. After some time recovering, I will be excited to see home in Olean to settle in and meet my 3 puppy dogs and 2 kitty cats & Finley the fish !
Despite the rough start and many unknowns, I want all my friends and family to know how strong I will be as a Heart Warrior Prayers, love, good health, happy vibes, and hearts is all I need to get us through this truly scary and exciting time. Rest assure, the unknowns are scary, but the love and strength of you all, our closest family and friends, sure outweigh and support us all growing closer together over these bumps in the road.
I can’t wait to be in mommy and daddy’s arms. I can’t wait to meet you all. I can’t wait to take my first steps. I can’t wait to make a lifetime of memories growing stronger through all of these obstacles. Having you all around me is the greatest strength and love of all.
“Smile from your heart. Nothing is more beautiful.”
-Kubra Sait
Many Hearts,
Baby Isabella ♥️