Finley Hill rings bell to mark end of stem cell treatment
A seven-year-old boy who underwent a stem cell transplant for his rare immune system disorder has marked the end of his treatment in a noisy way.
Finley Hill, from Worcestershire, was diagnosed in March 2019 with a condition affecting white blood cells' ability to clear infections. An appeal for a stem cell donor turned up a match in Brazil in September and his treatment began at Birmingham Children's Hospital in November. There he rang a special bell. It is becoming a tradition among some hospitals to offer a bell that can be rung by patients to signal their treatment's end. Sharing an image of Finley, who rang in the change last week, the hospital said he was "cheered on" by his toy dog, Dave. Finley's mum Jo Hill says her son is home in Belbroughton and "doing amazingly". She said: "We know it's a long road - for the next two years we've got things that could crop up and happen, but for now he's just astounding us." The family is currently in isolation, Mrs Hill says, because at the moment, Finley - who has haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or familial HLH - still cannot fight infections. She said: "For now, it's worth us going a bit stir-crazy at home, but at least we're at home." The family is also having to postpone a party for Finley's upcoming eighth birthday to avoid him becoming ill. In May, more than 1,000 people attended an event at his school, in Stourbridge, to be tested as potential stem cell donors. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone