Bella's Bags: How Donating to WakeMed Gave Felicia's Grief a Place to Go

Jon and Felicia Brady tried for 10 years to conceive. 

"Everyone told us that once we stopped trying, it would happen," Felicia shares. I didn't believe it, but just like they all said, we became pregnant in 2016 soon after we stopped trying.

Felicia's pregnancy went wonderfully. Her baby girl's growth was on target. Plus, Felicia was healthy throughout. 

"I had no worries during my pregnancy. I'd waited a long time to become pregnant, so I innocently believed I had accomplished the hard part."

Surprise Early Delivery

On June 24, at 24 weeks pregnant, Felicia began experiencing pain, pressure and discomfort. She visited her obstetrics office, and they performed scans and tests to determine what could be the issue. The results showed all was well, so Felicia went home. 

Later that evening, the discomfort intensified dramatically, and her water broke. She and Jon rushed to WakeMed Raleigh Campus Women's Pavilion. 

"Within an hour of walking through the doors, I was giving birth." 

Baby Isabella is Born

Born in her second trimester, Baby Isabella was a micro preemie, weighing just one pound and nine ounces. Due to her prematurity, the care team whisked her away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for lifesaving care.

Felicia remembers, "I was in a naive sort of aura in those moments. My concerns were that we'd not prepared a nursery or lined up daycare yet. I was in a state of shock, a sort of brain fog that wouldn't let me process the reality of what the next few weeks and months would look like."

A Little NICU Fighter

While her neonatal team worked hard to stabilize her, little Bella proved to be a fighter. Regardless of her tiny size, and the daily rollercoasters in her health, she continued to pull through. 

Felicia shares, "The entire NICU experience was like entering a foreign land. Despite the unfamiliar sounds, smells and sights, we still dove in headfirst. No matter how many lines and tubes she had and the number of required scrub ins to see her, she was our daughter, and we loved her. "

Bella’s care team took good care of Jon and Felicia while they adapted to their new “norm," putting them at ease.   

"Our daughter's care team realized we were overwhelmed and helped guide us through the maze. I cannot say enough amazing things about the WakeMed NICU, the nurses, the nurse practitioners and the doctors. Everyone helped us feel comfortable and answered our many questions. In particular, nurses Shannon and Casey are two women I will always love with my whole heart. They were there for the highest highs and the lowest lows of our journey. They were there from the beginning to the end."

Initially, Bella was on a trajectory toward improvement. She finally hit two pounds, which was an incredible milestone. 

"I can't fully explain the profound anxiety and fear mashed with moments of complete joy," Felicia recalls. "The NICU team worked hard to involve us in her care. They made sure we felt like her parents by including us in her sponge bathing, diaper changing, checking her temperature as well as selecting linens for our beautiful baby girl. Nurse Shannon also crafted a handmade bow for Bella that I treasure to this day."

In week five, everything changed. Bella developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a gastrointestinal condition causing inflammation and death of intestinal tissue. It primarily affects premature infants within the first two to six weeks of life. It can result in a range of severe complications.

"Bella was fine one day and the next, she wasn't. Everything moved very fast. We lost her at five weeks old."

Love Lost, Hope Found

The loss of their daughter, Bella, devasted the young couple.

Felicia reflects, "Life looks totally different now than it did 10 years ago, and that can bring overwhelming emotion. I feel sadness around every holiday, birthday and unreached milestone. My best friend has a daughter who was born in March 2016. I look at her all the time and think, 'Those are moments I will never get.' Grief has become part of me to the point that I don't notice it as much because it is at the core of who I am. I am Bella's mom, and she is not here. I've worked hard not to compartmentalize her and to keep her in my everyday life."

The Choice to Celebrate

In 2018, the couple decided to change their approach to Bella's birthday, so it would not be a day of sadness. They began an annual tradition, which they lovingly refer to as Bella's Bags. Each year, they fill bags with several gifts for parents with a baby in the WakeMed Raleigh Campus NICU to help ease the burden. Gifts include daily essentials, such as snacks and toiletries. 

"Grief is love with nowhere to go. Bella's Bags helped give us an outlet for the love we feel every day. I have incredible friends who celebrate Bella's birthday with us by collaborating and donating to fill the bags. They also encourage us to share her story, love when I talk about her and bring up their own sweet memories. Their support helps me continue to pour out my love and keep her memory alive."

Initially, Bella's Bags began with a gift of 25 bags, which eventually grew to 50. This brought the couple so much joy. Instead of focusing on the loss on her birthday, they felt honored to celebrate her life.

Amazingly, their joy grew when, in 2019, they became pregnant with their rainbow baby, Connor. A rainbow baby is a baby conceived or born after a pregnancy loss, stillbirth, infant loss, or neonatal loss. The pregnancy progressed normally, and Connor was born at WakeMed a healthy, full-term baby. 

Felicia explains, "What we went through with our daughter made me more appreciative of all the little things we are able to celebrate with our little boy, Connor. I remember giving him his first bath. It was such a big deal, maybe even more so than other parents."

As the years progressed, Connor has joined in celebrating his sister's birthday, helping to fill the bags in honor of Bella. 

A Special Donation in Honor of Bella's 10th Birthday

This year, Bella would have turned 10 years old, so the family decided to do something extra special. They donated two adaptable strollers for use with babies during their NICU stay to encourage infant/family bonding to the WakeMed Raleigh Campus NICU. These are especially great for little ones who are older and continue to require care in the NICU. 

Felicia says, "I wanted to join in helping families have some normal experiences even with a baby in the hospital. That's what the NICU team did for us. The memories of caring for Bella are etched in my heart, and if I had not been included in her care, I would not have them. We figured that for families with babies large enough to take a brief stroll in the hospital, it could give them a moment to forget that they have to leave their baby there and go home. It could be a moment filled with hope. 

Bella's birthday has become a day of joyful giving — sharing in the emotional grind of families caring for a baby in the NICU. 

Felicia offers, "For these families, time is precious. During infant hospitalization, the beginning of their story doesn't look like they expected. It is hard and exhausting. It is mentally and emotionally taxing. Maybe they're afraid to celebrate little victories because they seem really small compared to the end goal. But those small triumphs and simple pleasures, regardless of what happens, are going to one day be a source of comfort."

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About WakeMed Level IV NICU

When you have a critically ill newborn, you want and need the best possible care for your baby. WakeMed's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery offers the highest level of care available to premature and critically ill babies in Wake County.

About WakeMed Parentcare

Parentcare is a group that was established uniquely for the care and support of parents whose infant or child (from conception to one year of age) has died. 

Parentcare is...

• Caring for parents who have experienced the death of their child
• A place to share, a place to support each other
• And a respect for the time it may take to cope with the loss

Parentcare meetings are free.

About WakeMed Rainbow Baby and You: Newborn Care Basics

For parents who have experienced fetal loss, WakeMed Birth & Family Education offers a supportive and nurturing class on the basics of newborn care. We will also focus on parental self-care during this new stage of life. Led by experienced prenatal educators, social workers and nurses, this class is ideal for expectant parents preparing to welcome their newborn rainbow baby.

Learn more about this new class starting September 15, 2026.