Finn is from Newtownabbey. We are fundraising (or “Finndraising" as we like to call it!) for our 3 year old little boy, Finn.

Following a straight forward pregnancy, Finn was born full term, via Emergency C-section, after he sustained a severe brain injury during labour (Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy). Finn was without oxygen for nearly 20 minutes, had to be resuscitated, intubated and put on a ventilator to help him breathe. He spent his first two months in Neonatal ICU, experiencing neonatal seizures and fighting for his life.

In those early days, we were living moment to moment, not knowing if Finn would survive, if we would ever get to bring him home or what life would be like for him in the future.

Finn’s brain injury has resulted in a diagnosis of quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, which affects his head control, trunk and all four limbs. He also has Dystonia, Dysphagia and is fed a blended diet through a Gastrostomy (PEG) tube. Finn is also non-verbal and depends on one-to-one support.

Despite these difficulties, Finn is a very happy little boy and gets such a kick out of learning new things through his therapies. However, these interventions are life long and expensive. We are so grateful for the support we receive through the NHS but, these are only once a month and Finn needs much more support. Finn is learning skills that many of us take for granted, like head control, learning to sit, walk, crawl, stand, reach, grasp, swallow – the list goes on.

Finn has responded really well so far and we want to encourage his development with therapies like, hydrotherapy, physio, OT, SLT, DMI, CME, WBV, Vitalstim, Neurosuit and HBOT. A Trexo and stem cell therapy may well follow later in separate campaigns.

Early intervention is key to help Finn’s brain develop new neural pathways to compensate for the damaged ones. Our goal is to help Finn be as independent as possible and with your support we can give him the best chance to thrive.

You can follow Finn’s journey on Facebook at Finn’s Giant Adventures where we will be sharing our ongoing fundraising efforts. We are so grateful for your kindness and support.

Mary Frances & Graeme

Follow Finn on Facebook