For January, we wanted to feature Finley Gunter. In her very young life, she has endured so much. Finley has been fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia for the last few months. This was all after having a congenital heart defect and Trisomy 21. However, she has done remarkably well and has a very good prognosis overall. Finley’s mom, Courtney, shared with us some of her story.

Finley has a heart defect and Trisomy 21 that we had no idea about until the day she was born. Her AV canal defect would require surgery to repair. She had open heart surgery at 7 and a half months. Finley started getting cold symptoms and sick in mid-August. She was put on prednisone and got better for a week then relapsed and developed a red dot rash that I thought was just viral from being sick. I came home from work one day and she started to become sick again. I noticed her lips were grey and her skin was pale. I took her to her pediatrician for an evaluation and blood work. When evaluating her they wanted her further evaluated at Brenner Childrens Hospital in Winston Salem. Once labs were done that is the day we received the most devastating news we’ve ever received. Cancer is never the word you want to hear especially for your 23 month old that has already endured more than most adults in her life. Our support has been tremendous and outpouring. This journey isn’t easy and it take a huge toll on your life emotionally, mentally and physically. The support we’ve had from friends, family, community, foundations, hospital staff, etc has helped the hard and ugly times. We rely on the good Lord above for peace and comfort. He is going to bring us out of this on top and Finley is going to have a huge testimony.

If you would like to follow along with Finley’s journey, her family has created a Facebook page. Finley was also recently featured in an Atrium Health article which can be read here. In February, Finley finished her chemotherapy and in early April, she had a bone marrow biopsy. They are patiently awaiting the results. We hope that the news will be good and continued strength in her journey.