Finn's Story

On August 22nd 2018, we became parents for the first time to a perfect baby boy who we named Finn Benton Pope. I quit my job as a teacher to stay home with him full-time.

Life was perfect. We loved him. Protected him. Spoiled him. He is our sunshine, our only sunshine. On July 23rd after a few nights of fussiness from our usually happy baby boy and slight ear tugging, we took him to his pediatrician. The doctor quickly reassured us of no ear infection and that our sweet guy was suffering from the effects of 5 teeth coming in. However, the same night Finn woke at 11:30 pm on screaming, right as his Dada, Austin, was coming home from his 2nd shift job as an inspector. After both of us tried to calm Finn, he threw up and went limp in my arms. I will never forget the lifelessness in his face at that very moment. After an ambulance trip and then care flight shortly after, it was discovered that our perfect baby boy, under his perfect head of hair had a brain aneurysm. At only 11 months old, the rareness of Finn having an aneurysm was described to us as a 1 in 100 million chance. After dedicated surgeons, doctors, and nurses worked around the clock, performed emergency surgeries and any other life saving measures they could think of, Finn was declared brain dead.  Finn became a hero and donated his organs. Finn's heart saved the life of a girl under 1, his liver saved the life of a boy under 1, and his kidneys saved the life of a woman in her 40s. Our lives have forever been changed by Finn. I promised him that his life would make me better and not bitter. Finn is my hero, and I am so proud to be his Mama. 

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Finley's Story

Only 2 months after the sudden loss of Finn, we found out we were expecting a baby girl. I hoped and prayed, her life would ignite hope in us once more. While pregnant with her, I coined her our moon, our light in the darkness. After much prayer and consideration, we decided to honor Finn and gift her with the most beautiful name we could imagine: Finley. As I update this about me, Finley is now 14 months old and our little moon child is everything, and so much more than I ever imagined. Her life has given us a reason to want to live again; a reason to look forward and not just behind. She is a firecracker of a tooty little girl, and we can not get enough of her and all of her fabulously demanding, but ridiculously sweet personality. Our love for her is in addition to our love for Finn. He will NEVER be replaced. We talk to her about him daily, remembering him with smiles as we instill the hope of Heaven together in her heart.

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Life After Loss

This journey is lifelong for our family. But I am finding my footing, one day at a time. As I continue to find me in motherhood and other ventures like writing, home decor, and fashion, I plan to share all those facets. Finn, although, might not always be directly discussed on Finnthehero.com, he is the reason for this space and the reason I have the courage to share. I appreciate you joining me on this journey and welcome any feedback.

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Much Love, 

Finn's Mama

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