On New Year’s Day 2011, Trey and Kim Bowman received the news no parent ever wants to hear: their seven-year-old daughter, Bella, had a brain tumor. After months of unexplained illness, the diagnosis was finally clear—ependymoma, a rare pediatric brain cancer.

When doctors confirmed that surgery was the only option, Bella’s parents explained the tumor to her in a way a child could understand. They told her it was a “Red Dot” that needed to be removed. She understood. She accepted it. She fought.

With incredible precision and care, Dr. Allen Joseph and Dr. Kelly Scrantz performed a high-risk surgery. Bella faced the possibility of losing her ability to breathe, eat, or walk on her own. But she made it through.
Her first words after surgery?

Is the Red Dot gone? The tumor had been removed. Bella had won her first battle.

Ten days after surgery, Bella was transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and then to Jacksonville, Florida, for proton radiation therapy.

What no one could foresee was what would come next.

Eight months later, Bella developed brain stem radiation necrosis—a rare and devastating side effect. Between August and December of 2011, she underwent:

• 60 hyperbaric oxygen treatments
• Multiple rounds of chemotherapy
• Sleep studies
• Extensive physical, speech, and occupational therapy

She was just eight years old.

In December, on the way home from St. Jude, Bella began choking and struggling to breathe. Her mother called ahead to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. Bella was admitted immediately.

Within 48 hours, she was placed on a ventilator. An MRI revealed the worst: irreversible damage. The radiation necrosis had reached the brain stem. There was nothing more doctors could do—except provide comfort.

Five days later, surrounded by her parents, Bella passed peacefully in her daddy’s arms.

Bella Bowman was not afraid. She was full of light, love, and an unshakable spirit. She had a magical way of connecting with people—of giving hope, even in pain.

Her phrase, said often and with conviction, became a rallying cry:
“Go away Red Dot. And don’t you ever come back.”

Today, through the Bella Bowman Foundation, her story continues. Her courage funds research. Her kindness fills ComfortCare℠ bags. Her memory brings people together to fight for better outcomes—and more time—for children like her.

Bella is in heaven. But her voice, her message, her impact? It’s still here. And it’s just getting started.