Eli Finch (featured in a previous Live Action News story as Eli Thompson) the boy whose story touched hearts around the world when he was born without a nose, has died at the age of two.
“We lost our little buddy last night,” his father, Jeremy Finch wrote on Facebook. “I’ll never be able to make sense of why this happened, and this will hurt deeply for a long time. But I’m so blessed to have had this beautiful boy in my life! He finished his race a lot earlier than we would have liked, but it was God’s time to bring him back home.”
Eli was born March 4, 2015 and his mother, Brandi McGlathery, was shocked to see that her son didn’t have a nose. He was diagnosed with complete congenital arhinia, a life-threatening condition.
“I pulled back and said, ‘Something’s wrong!’ McGlathery told reporters. “And the doctor said, ‘No, he’s perfectly fine.’ Then I shouted, ‘He doesn’t have a nose!’ I was the first person to see it. Even when they took him away, my family still didn’t know something was wrong, due to being caught up in the excitement of his arrival. It wasn’t until they opened the blinds of the nursery that everyone else saw.”
While Eli was breathing out of his mouth, he spent a few days in the neonatal intensive care unit and was given a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. Shortly after, he went home with his parents.
“We think he’s perfect the way he is,” McGlathery said shortly after Eli’s birth.
Complete congenital arhinia also affected his pituitary glands and he would have to wait for facial surgery to create a nasal passageway until he was older. Tragically, he didn’t get to see that day.
Eli died June 3, 2017 around 10:40 p.m. His obituary reads:
Timothy Eli Finch, 2, of Mobile, AL left this Earth on June 3rd, 2017 as a result of a medical emergency. He was born on March 4th, 2015 at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center. He is survived by his parents Brandi Nicole McGlathery and Jeremy Ross Finch. He is also survived by his step-mother Anamarie Finch, wife of Jeremy Finch; as well as four siblings…. He was a very happy little boy and made new loving friendships everywhere he went. His story has impacted people from all walks of life throughout the world. It is with much sorrow that we must give him back to the Lord at such a young age. We must not ask why. Only God knows. We only pray that one day, the reason will be revealed to us. But until then, we will celebrate his beautiful life with friends and family. We only ask that everyone do their best to continue Eli’s work of spreading love and joy all over the world. This would be his wish.
