‘MY PRIVATE HEARTBREAK’
The Medical Team were all smiles as they wowed the judges with their energetic performance of Britney Spears’ Toxic on Dance Boss.
But behind the scenes, nurse Bella was battling one of the toughest times of her life. Just a week before filming started, the 22-year-old’s mum, Suzie, was admitted into intensive care with triple organ failure.
‘Mum had been feeling unwell for a couple of days, but convinced herself it was just a stomach bug,’ Bella tells New Idea. ‘But we knew something was wrong when my dog scratched her arm and she bled for the rest of the day.’
Suzie was rushed to hospital, where she was almost immediately taken to ICU and put on life support.
The doctors found that because she had suffered liver failure, the blood-thinning medication she had been taking for her autoimmune disease had stopped working.
Bella admits she considered leaving the show, but knew her mum would’ve wanted her to stay.
After all, it was Suzie, a former dancer, who instilled a love of performing arts in Bella.
‘In between rehearsals and filming, I would fly back from Sydney to Port Macquarie to visit mum in hospital,’ Bella says.
With less than a five per cent chance of Suzie waking up from a coma, Bella reveals that each goodbye with her mum was harder than the next.
Thankfully, she had the support of her fellow medical teammates to keep her going. She also found an unexpected mentor in Dannii Minogue, who took the young dancer under her wing.
‘On our 15-hour promo shoot, Dannii kept stopping to ask how I was going,’ Bella says.
‘It meant so much to me that she took the time out of her busy day to check on me.’
Against all odds, Bella’s mum did wake up and, while still in hospital, is now on the mend.
‘The first thing she did after she woke up was burst into tears, because she thought she’d missed my first episode,’ Bella laughs.
Now the pair are enjoying watching the series together from the TV in Suzie’s hospital room.
The family’s health ordeal has only further ignited Bella’s passion for nursing, with her ultimate goal being to work in the air force.
However, she reveals she hasn’t ruled out a career as a performer.
‘Dancing is who I am and it will always be a part of my life – whether that’s through teaching or on the stage,’ she says.