Middlebeck family appeals for community support to raise funds to take their 18-month-old son for a stem cell therapy in Panama

A family is appealing for community support to help their 18-month-old baby receive a potentially life-changing medical treatment abroad.

Parents Eve and Bradley Smart, both 27, have launched a fundraising campaign to access specialist stem cell therapy for Finley Smart, their first child who was born with a severe growth restriction, leading him to sustain a ‘massive brain injury that has affected all parts of his brain’.

Finley was born following a normal pregnancy but complications during labour led to a lack of oxygen to his brain and, at two days old, he was diagnosed with severe Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, resulting in permanent and life-limiting brain damage.

The Middlebeck mother said: “We expected the day Finley was born to be one of the happiest days of our lives, instead it turned into a nightmare that is never-ending.

“We haven’t shared anything about this online before but I thought I would give some details here as we have set up a Go Fund Me page and be so grateful if people could take the time to read Finley’s story and share with anyone you know who would be willing to donate.”

At nine days old, the doctors told the family they advised that life support should be withdrawn and the family agreed, so they could ‘cuddle him while he died peacefully’.

Eve added: “A plan was never made for if he lived because it was deemed impossible, so you can imagine our surprise when our special boy continued to breathe on his own.

“This was obviously the absolute best outcome and we were so happy but we now had to come to terms with the fact that baby Fin would be severely disabled for as long as he lives.”

The music-loving baby was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy. He is blind, tube-fed and has not yet met any developmental milestones such as sitting, rolling or walking.

The parents said Finley has ‘much more of a personality than expected’ and that the happy 18-month-old enjoys cuddles from anyone and everyone.

The family is now hoping to take Finley to the specialist Stem Cell Institute in Panama for treatment using donor umbilical cord stem cells.

The therapy aims to enhance the function of healthy brain cells to improve motor skills, cognition and vision.

Bradley said: “This is so important for our family, to give Finley a better quality of life.

“Anything that can improve his life is worth it.”

The mother added: “We desperately want to be able to get him stem cell therapy, a treatment that will use donor stem cells to enhance the performance of his healthy brain cells.

“This treatment could be potentially life-changing for him.”

In other children with similar disabilities to Finley, the therapy was shown to improve cognitive motor skills and vision.

“It is important we start this as early on in his life as possible to maximise his chances of improving developmentally and living a longer life,” added the mother.

The cost of the therapy and required intensive physiotherapy is estimated at £20,000 and the family say any money raised will be used exclusively for Finley’s treatment, not for travel, accommodation or other expenses.

People can donate at the Go Fund Me site.

The couple recently welcomed a second child, Asher, now four weeks old and healthy. When they found out that Eve was pregnant, it had brought feelings of uncertainty as Finley’s pregnancy appeared to go smoothly before his issues.

Bradley added: “We asked ourselves if we were doing the right thing, but I believe that Asher will be a good support for Finley.”