Girl, 8, Awaiting Organ Transplant Brings Down the House Onstage with Broadway Star Jessica Vosk
Big dreams came true for little Bella Thomson!
Known to her nearly 5 million TikTok followers as Bella Brave, the 8-year-old from Saskatchewan received a standing ovation at the David Foster Foundation gala on Saturday night all thanks to Broadway star Jessica Vosk.
Bella — who is experiencing bowel failure and is currently on the list for a bowel transplant — and her mother, Kyla Thomson, were special guests at David Foster's A Night on Broadway gala in Toronto. The event raised funds for Canadian families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants, and Bella and Kyla were documenting their experience on social media.
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Vito Amati Photography, Arthur Mola
"I was in the middle of singing 'Don't Rain on My Parade,' and I just looked down into the audience and saw her dancing by herself in the aisle, living her best life, and I knew she had to come on stage and have a complete star moment," Vosk tells PEOPLE.
"David Foster stopped the band, and the audience went wild, and she stole the show! And she stole my heart too. She is stronger than I will ever be."
Bella almost didn't make it to the big show. Earlier that day, her mother Kyla tells PEOPLE that she was experiencing some stomach and bowel pain.
"I just told her, 'Honey, if you need a day of rest, just rest. You know, your health and safety is more important than any show,' " Kyla explains. "And she's like, 'Mom, I think I'll be okay.' She had a nap, we did some medical care and, before I knew it, she's like, 'Mom, I wanna get my dress on. Let's go party!' "
Bella has experienced a slew of medical and genetic conditions since she was born in 2013. According to the family's page on the David Foster Foundation website, Bella was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease, a disease that affects an infant's intestines, in addition to severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and a form of dwarfism called cartilage hair hypoplasia.
She also needed to have a bone marrow transplant when she was 1 year old due to having SCID.
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Vito Amati Photography, Arthur Mola
"There's just been so many painful procedures and medical procedures she's had to endure at home and in hospital. To see her feeling so good and just loving the music, and being able to dance and enjoy herself, for her this was an experience that was breathtaking. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her," Kyla says.
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In an exclusive video shared with PEOPLE, Bella can be seen taking the stage to dance around Vosk as the former Wicked star belted out "Don't Rain on My Parade" from the musical Funny Girl.
Beaming in her purple gown, Bella received a standing ovation from the crowd and on her way back to her mother's table, she can be heard excitedly asking, "Did you see me, Mommy?"
Following the performance, Vosk shared the special moment with her Instagram followers. "This is Bella. She is patiently awaiting an organ transplant, and in the face of daily struggle, she has never stopped smiling," she captioned a photo of them together onstage.
"It was one of the most special moments of my life. Afterwards she said, 'This was my dream.' "