'She still knew she was amazing'

Girl, 10, battling rare diseases inspired millions on social media

- MARK COLLEY

In the white hallways of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, Bella Thomson pedalled hard.

Her pink helmet on, she leaned forward, her bike steadied by training wheels, tassels on its handlebars.

Behind the little girl, her parents carted the oxygen tank.

It wasn't until Bella got back to her room that the family realized her bike's tires were deflated. She had pedalled on anyway.

It was that perseverance and joy that made Bella a social media star when her mother began documenting her battle with rare diseases that meant much of her childhood was lived inside the hospital.

Her fearless ride would be the second-last time she pedalled those hospital hallways. Bella Bella Brave to her millions of followers died Sunday at age 10.

She was diagnosed at birth in 2013 with three rare medical conditions: severe combined immunodeficiency, a form of dwarfism, and Hirschsprung's disease, which can lead to blocked intestines. She underwent more than 20 surgeries and was a longtime patient at SickKids.

Yet her smiles and laughter inspired millions.