We're so proud of our boy – In memory of Finley

By Taylor  

On Wednesday the 6th of April, we experienced what we thought was the worst day of our lives.  

In the morning, our son Finley (Fin) experienced what we initially thought was a seizure. We called an ambulance, and soon realised he couldn't talk, walk, or use his arms the right way.  
 
Thirty minutes after being observed in emergency, he was sent for a CT scan, where they discovered a small blood clot in his brain, and that he had suffered a stroke.  

I was faced with the decision of whether to give him blood thinners to treat the clot, or send him for emergency brain surgery, which would take two hours.  

We wanted Fin to have the best chance. 
 
So, I signed the paperwork and rode on his bed with him to theatre. I stayed with him until he went to sleep, kissing him on the head when I left - it would be 6 hours before I saw Fin again.  

 
The surgery went well, and they were able to retrieve the clot. We were told that despite initially thinking it was small, the team soon realised it was a large clot leading from his carotid artery to the left side of his brain.  
 
He was sent straight from theatre to an MRI, to check blood flow had returned, which it had. 
 
There were some complications after surgery, which was the reason it took so long to see him after the operation. He was intubated and kept under sedation, then sent to the pediatric ICU, where he received an echocardiogram to try and find out why our otherwise healthy five-year-old had a stroke. 
 
We found out that Fin suffered from a rare heart condition. Symptoms we were told were asthma were something more dangerous. This condition caused a clot in his heart, which shot off to his brain, causing the stroke. 

We were given a bleak prognosis, but Fin defied all expectations. 
 
On Friday night he spoke his first words, which were unexpected, as we were told it would be weeks or months until he spoke - if he could speak at all.  
 
On Saturday, when testing if he was able to stand holding our hands and holding his own weight, he took his first steps unassisted. 
 
By that afternoon, he was unclipping his own oxygen monitor to walk to the toilet unassisted. 
 
He was on a feeding tube for only one day, before he was making his own cornflakes and eating the whole bowl, and was able to get it removed. 

 
These are things we were told would take much longer for him to achieve. 
 
Throughout our time in the hospital, we were visited by many specialists and different doctors that had heard about his quick recovery and wanted to see Fin for themselves. We were told by our main doctor that it was the fastest stroke recovery he had ever seen. Our boy was strong, stronger than me, stronger than anyone I know and probably will ever know. 

But this battle was not over for Fin. In the end, Fin's health problems were too much for his little body.  
 
Finley passed away just 9 days after going home. His hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which doctors thought was under control, and not life threatening, proved to be devastating for him.  
 
When we left the hospital, things felt almost normal again. We had daily hospital visits to check his INR results due to the blood thinners he was on. 

Fin wasn't talking, besides a few words, but he was playing with his brother, kicking the soccer ball, laughing, building Lego as he loved to do, and riding his beloved bike with ease.  

Then, one terrible morning, we lost him. It was sudden and it was cruel.  

The night before we'd done our usual bedtime routine, a kiss and a cuddle with Fin in our bed. An extra kiss goodnight, sweet dreams my little one. 

In the morning I found him unresponsive. We called an ambulance, and everything was done to help Fin. He fought hard, we fought hard, but it was too much for him.  

We're sharing what happened to Fin, so that people know that children have strokes too, and to celebrate his life, his kind and loving nature, and his grit and determination. 

We couldn't be prouder of our son, and his precious life.  

In all this darkness, we were happy we were able to get some time at home before he passed away, and happy he was able to do a lot of the things he loved to do. 

Our boy was amazing, and we all miss him dearly.  

We will continue to talk about stroke and heart disease in children, and create a legacy fit for our little boy.