GREENVILLE, S.C. (WYFF) - An upstate South Carolina high school student is asking for prayers after she entered hospice this week.
Bella Muntean, a freshman at Riverside High School student in Greenville, was diagnosed in January 2017 with osteosarcoma.
Osteosarcoma is the type of cancer that starts in the bones.
Greenville County School profiled Bella in a video in October. In it, Bella talks about undergoing months of extremely intense chemotherapy after her diagnosis.
“They gave me a 20% chance to live at first and I was like ‘No, I refuse to believe that.’ I know that I can do this, and I can make it. I’ve come so far,” Bella said in the video.
She said she spent a lot of time in the hospital. But after having surgery to remove a tumor and bone in her leg, she returned to school where she took on an advance course load and pursued her passion for music.
This week Riverside High School shared a post on Facebook that Bella made on Instagram.
In the post, Bella said she coughed up a piece of a bronchial tube and began internally bleeding in her lungs. The doctors told Bella the tumors had grown, and that treatment is not working. She said she will be placed under hospice care.
“This is NOT the end. I know that God has a plan for me, and that he does perform miracles. With every cell in my body, I believe that I will be healed by God and that a miracle will be performed for me. I will be living every second to the fullest, and I want to share that with you all,’ the post said. “What I need right now is prayer. Please ask everyone you know to pray for me and send good vibes. Please send this to everyone you can think of. I need a miracle, but I believe it is coming!”
Bella becomes finalist for Prudential Spirit of Community Award
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards selected Bella as a Distinguished Finalist in South Carolina’s Top Youth Volunteers of 2018.
Bella and her mother started a charity that provides children being treated for cancer with toys, gift cards, and other items. These items are placed in a drawstring pillowcase, adorned with a hand-drawn “angel of hope.” Isabella has also helped to provide young cancer patients with American Girl dolls and products.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scouts councils, 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of Points of Light’s HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth.
Prayer vigil planned
Covenant United Methodist Church in Greer, S.C. is holding a prayer vigil at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The Facebook post for the event says, “Join us Sunday night in the Covenant Sanctuary to have a prayer vigil for Bella. All are welcome to join us for a time of prayer and worship in honor of Bella. Please share!”