After spending months recovering from a complex procedure, Finley Good is said to be like a ‘bull in a china shop’ and it is as if ‘nothing is wrong with him’.
Finley, who lives in St Helier, was born at Southampton General Hospital suffering from hypoplastic left heart syndrome – a birth defect causing the blood flow to his heart to be restricted.
However, following an operation, known as the Fontan procedure, his mother, Kirsty Godfrey, says that she is now looking forward to him enjoying his first normal Christmas.
She said: ‘He had his first open-heart surgery when he was four days old, another when he was three months old and he has just had his third operation in April this year.
‘After the last one, his recovery was not great. His chest drains all fell out, he had a really rough fight and spent the whole of April away in Southampton. He has spent quite a lot of his little life in hospital.’
She added: ‘During his previous Christmas he was ill and was always ending up with the out-of-hours doctor. Because of how bad his circulation was, he was normally very blue. The operation they did this year corrected all of that. It should be the best Christmas he has had since he was born.’
Mrs Godfrey added that it was now a case of monitoring Finley’s health. His last visit to a cardiologist was in September and he is not due to attend another appointment for six months.
However, the mother of three added that her eldest son’s condition was very complex and she was unsure of what the future held for him.
She said: ‘When he grows up he might need a transplant. We just do not know. It is a very complex heart problem and if he starts to get poorly we have to put him on antibiotics straight away, as he can go downhill very quickly.
‘But at the moment, there is no stopping him. He is like a bull in a china shop. It is as if there is nothing wrong with him – he is so much healthier. He is just so full of life, he makes my day – he is the happiest six-year-old I know. He just makes everything better.’
Despite undergoing numerous complex procedures, Finley, a Year 1 d’Auvergne pupil, is now beginning to enjoy exercising, using the school climbing frame and taking part in PE lessons.
In July, Finley and his four-year-old half-sister, Maisie-Grace (4), became siblings to Jackson.
Later, in October, Mrs Godfrey married Matthew and described the ceremony as the ‘best day ever’.
Mrs Godfrey added: ‘When your child is sick it makes you look at life from a whole new perspective. It makes you wonder why you moan about such little things. It is just so nice to see Finley leading his life, he is such a cheeky Jack the Lad.’
