Little Finn

There is a little boy named Finn at Matthew's school. He and Matthew were in the 2 year old class together. Finn is a sweet boy like Matthew, and he was the first friend Matthew made at school. Matthew always talked about Finn's red shoes!

We've just been told that he has a rare and potentially fatal disease called Diamond Blackfan Anemia. I had never heard of it, so I included a snippet from their blog to give you some basic info:

Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is a bone marrow failure disorder that inhibits red blood cell production. Finn does not have the ability to produce red blood cells on his own so he depends on blood transfusions every 2-3 weeks to survive. After a blood transfusion, Finn's hemoglobin rises to a normal level and immediately begins to slowly drop until his next blood transfusion. The low hemoglobin affects his energy level, pallor and overall health.

Finn continues to do well on transfusions, but is dealing with severe iron overload as a result of receiving over 50 transfusions and counting. Iron overload can be dangerous if not treated because excess iron primarily builds up in the liver and heart and can cause serious liver and cardiac problems. Because the body does not expel excess iron on its own, chelation therapy is required to help Finn rid his body of excess iron. Every night while Finn sleeps, he receives desferal (chelating agent) through a subcutaneous needle connected to an infusion pump. He seems to be responding to the nightly infusions as we just learned that his ferritin (iron indicator) levels significantly dropped for the first time in over a year. To learn more about DBA, please check out the DBA Foundation online. (There is a baby picture of Finn on the "For Families" page.)

I simply can't imagine how difficult it must be for Finn, not to mention the anxiety and elation his parents must experience every day with their sweet little man. It breaks my heart to think that anyone has to go through something like this, but I am so happy to be able to help!

Matthew's school, Westminster Day School, is putting together a cookbook to benefit Finn's family. Please let me know if you would like to order one. You may also check out the Finn Gunderson Journal in the blog list for more information or to order a jellyfish tshirt from the recent benefit concert. To see more pictures of Finn and his red shoes, check out this link!

This year, our family has decided to adopt Finn as our Christmas angel, so we'll be giving away lots of cookbooks and t-shirts. I hope you will consider doing the same!