NEDERLAND, Texas — A Southeast Texas mother said that while learning her 10-year-old daughter had brain cancer was hard, she is thankful that the diagnosis came when it did.
Bella Resweber has been at St. Jude’s in Memphis for more than a month, after being diagnosed with stage 4 Pineoblastoma. Pineoblastoma is a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, with diagnoses happening in less than one percent of patients, Nichole Resweber, Bella's mother, said.
“I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that would ever be a possibility for her,” Nichole Resweber said.
Nichole Resweber said the last few months have been tough, but she is proud of her daughter for enduring as she continues to receive treatment.
The Nederland mother said it all started with a visit to Bella Resweber’s eye doctor in October of 2021.
The mother and daughter moved from New York to Nederland a few months ago. Prior to moving back, the 10-year-old began throwing up, having headaches, and dealing with vision problems.
Nichole Resweber took her daughter to an eye doctor in New York but was told they would not be able to make an appointment until January. Shortly after moving to Nederland in October, the Southeast Texas mother took her daughter to an eye doctor who recommended that Bella Resweber be taken to Texas Children’s.
“When they showed me the scans of her brain and the fluid built up into it, if we would've waited like, if it would've gone months down the road, we wouldn't even be having this conversation at all,” Nichole Resweber said.
A doctor at Texas Children’s told the pair that the 10-year-old was going to need emergency brain surgery. Nichole Resweber said had doctors not diagnosed her daughter when they did, her chances of beating the disease would have been much lower.
“Less then one percent of kids are diagnosed with it,” Nichole Resweber said “Very aggressive tumor.”
Since then, they have gone from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston to St. Jude’s in Memphis, Tennessee as the 10-year-old seeks treatment for the rare and aggressive brain cancer
“You don't only see your child,” Nichole Resweber said. “You see all the other children go through the same thing that she's going through, and it's so sad."
Bella Resweber will have surgery in January of 2022 to remove her brain tumor. The 10-year-old will then need six weeks of radiation followed by four more rounds of chemotherapy.
“I know it’s in God hand,” Nichole Resweber said. “ I know God doesn’t ever give you more than you can handle. But I know he is listening, and all those prayers are definitely helping.”
Nichole Resweber said the love and support from not only the Southeast Texas community, but also Bella’s old school in New York, has helped them get through the tough times.
Resweber feels grateful that her daughter was diagnosed when she was and was able to seek treatment, because for many children, the diagnosis comes too late.
