My Adventure

Bella Marie’s Hope came about when restauranteur Sal and wife Tina daughter Gabriella “Bella” was diagnosed with trisomy 8 mosaicism 8 weeks after she was born in 2015. She was one of 5 in the state of North Carolina that Duke’s Children’s Hospital had ever seen. What they didn’t realize is that the many medical problems that their daughter would go through would have a profound affect on their son Giovanni “Gio”. Both kids became inseparable with “Gio” doing what a big brother does best—helping his sister though her many struggles.

Both kids have very big loving hearts & only want to help other sick kids as they go through many of the struggles that have affected this pair. After one of Bellas hospital stays during the holidays, Gio came to his parents and said “mom, dad I want to give all of my money that I’ve saved up to the sick kids.” Bella and I want to make sure they have toys and clothing they need while they are in the hospital.” 

This was a point of no turning back for us— how could we as parents say no? So after some brainstorming Sal came up with a novel idea, why not start selling the family’s restaurant homemade marinara sauce as a way to help fund the Dukes Children’s Hospital since that would be “Bella’s” main hospital for treatment. It was later decided that the money earned would not only support duke children’s but also local organizations in our hometown and local families.

After all the restaurant has been in business for 45 years started by his father Jerry in 1977. The restaurant’s long history of community involvement could now help raise money for research to help other kids out. “Bella Marie’s Hope” would now give his kids a sense of purpose a sense of responsibility that Jerry instilled in his own children. “Bella Marie’s Hope” would be a way that Sal could teach his kids to give back to the community that has supported the family’s restaurant “Sal’s Italian Restaurant” for 45 years. 

So here we are. We are just getting started but we truly hope that this will become a fundamental part of our community in helping other families navigate the unknown medical journeys they will encounter. It’s not an easy journey but our goal is to help provide additional resources for families and to provide funds to Duke and other organizations to help fund additional research for our children. 

JOIN THE ADVENTURE