Finn the Fabulous to ring treatment bell after leaving hospital
“We enter this new year at home together, this new decade with a reinforced positivity that this boy can and he will.”
The family of ‘Finn the Fabulous’ were overjoyed to announce that Finley Hill has returned home, and will be ringing the hospital treatment bell, at the beginning of 2020.
The seven-year-old, from Belbroughton, near Stourbridge, was diagnosed with rare immune system disorder familial HLH, which causes damaged and enlarged organs.
Without stem cell treatment he will die.
His mother Jo Hill said she knew Finn still had “a mountain to climb” but that he had done amazingly well to get to where he was.
She said: “We would like to give everyone an extra reason to raise a glass and everyone a little hope, we hope, who may be facing what feels like an impossible battle.
“Finn was discharged the day before New Year’s Eve. He is ringing the bell next Tuesday.
“We know neither of these means he doesn’t still have a mountain to climb but he has done so brilliantly, so far and should be immensely proud of himself.
“We enter this new year at home together, this new decade with a reinforced positivity that this boy can and he will.”
Earlier this year, after a lengthy search, a stem cell donor match was found for Finn – in the form of a 43-year-old man from Brazil, which gave the family hope.
It meant Finn, a pupil at Hagley Primary, went into hospital in November to undergo gruelling treatment.
Doctors said he would be in hospital for three months, but he returned home just in time to see in 2020.
Jo added: “We couldn’t be happier. Although we didn’t make it to midnight, we all just fell asleep!
“Finn gets to ring the treatment bell on Tuesday because he’s been discharged, and then he can come back and ring it again once all the T cells come in and he can fight infection himself again. That will be on day 100 and we’re on about day 34 so far.
“It’s still very early days but he’s just done outstandingly well. Finn looks amazing, he’s so bright and bubbly and laughing all the time.
“We’re back in time for his birthday too – he turns eight on January 19 and we thought he might still be in hospital.”
Only two per cent of people in the UK are on the stem cell register and the fact that Finley has a rare tissue type makes finding a donor even harder.
Jo said she urged everyone to sign up and register to be a stem cell donor, to give other families like Finn’s hope.
For more details, visit the UK Stem Cell Register via dkms.org.uk or anthonynolan.org
