Mighty Fin

Mighty Fin

By Darcy Nayler, Fin’s Mom

Finlay (Fin) surprised us his whole life. He was born 13 months after his big brother Liam in Guildford, England. Fin from the beginning, kept everyone who loved him on their toes. He taught everyone that being yourself is the only way to be. Medically Fin’s first five years of life included RSV that required intubation, multiple hospital stays for asthma, a few surgeries for his stomach. By age five, his health turned around except for injuries from living his life by his rules. When he was three his younger sibling was born.

Finlay had strong opinions. He loved to stir the pot, vikings, lacrosse, anime, Blues hockey, swimming, climbing and boxing. He worked with elementary school kids and his dream was to be a history teacher. His best friend in the world was his sibling Maeve Murphy. He had the most loyal friends and he loved his younger cousins fiercely. He was known to climb the highest trees, hid on roofs during hide and seek, rollerblade in the house, and being outside was his favorite place to be. He could charm anyone with his dimpled sly smile.

On August 2, 2019, Fin was diagnosed with stage 4 rhabdomyosarcoma at 15. It was the same day his older brother Liam (16) had scheduled open heart surgery. Fin had just finished his freshman year in high school. During his battle he said he never knew how “magical being healthy was.”

His battle was during COVID, which made it very isolating but he kept up his feisty spirit always. Fin always wanted to know what was going on with his body. He made all of his medical decisions (along with his parents), researched his disease and handled it with as much grace as a petrified teenager could do. He had nicknames for his doctors and had his favorite nurses. He was the definition of brave, he asked his friends to speak at his funeral and he chose to be buried in his Pop’s Vietnam uniform, “his prized possession”.

Finlay fought this beast for 905 days. He fought non stop till October 2021 when we found out he had tumors in his heart and lungs. He bravely chose to stop treatments. He chose quality over quantity. Fin made me promise two things, I would keep him pain free and he could die at home. Unfortunately, he was never out of pain but he chose to stay at home and be with the people he loved. His last few months were filled with visits from his loyal friends after school, going to a Blues game, quality time with his siblings, cousins and everyone who loved him.

Fin died at home in his mothers arms at 4:03 am on January 23rd.