A BRAVE 17-year-old boy who received a devastating brain tumour diagnosis has raised more than £10,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity in a sponsored abseil.

Finlay Joyce, from Bromsgrove, became a patient at Birmingham Children’s Hospital the moment he was born, after his mum Amy’s 20-week scan showed Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which meant the left side of his heart was underdeveloped.

When Finlay was just three-days-old, he underwent his first of three open-heart surgeries to try and reconstruct his heart, with further procedures throughout his childhood to try and improve his blood flow and oxygen levels.

Despite dealing with the complications of only having half a heart, including feeling very tired and breathless, Finlay has been able to lead a relatively normal life.

However, in June this year, Finlay and his family’s world was turned upside down, when a precautionary eye test resulted in an emergency referral to Finlay’s local hospital.

When Finlay noticed his eyes twitching when he looked to the right, Amy set the wheels in motion and booked an eye test.

Finlay found himself back at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and after further scans, doctors broke the news that he had a large, inoperable tumour attached to his brain stem.

Though Finlay’s doctors were sure they wouldn’t be able to remove the tumour, they took him to surgery to take a biopsy of the tumour, to help them understand more about its placement and how best to treat and try to shrink it.

Fin Joyce with his younger sister Kitty, mum Amy, dad Andrew.Fin Joyce with his younger sister Kitty, mum Amy, dad Andrew. (Image: Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity)

After a five-day stay at the hospital, Finlay returned home to recover before beginning treatment, which has so far included steroids to reduce swelling in his brain, and six-weeks of intensive radiotherapy to try and shrink the tumour and keep Finlay’s symptoms at bay.

Recently during one of Finlay’s visits to Birmingham Children's Hospital for treatment, as Amy pushed him into a lift in his wheelchair, he spotted a poster promoting the hospital charity’s abseil at the Custard Factory in Digbeth and decided there and then that he’d like to give it his best shot, to give back to the hospital.

Having taken part in an abseil herself, Amy was nervous about letting Finlay take on such a challenge in his condition but filled with enthusiasm, Finlay asked his consultants to give him the ‘go ahead’ to take part, and they did.

On the day, Finlay’s friends, family and even teachers from school turned out to cheer him on as he lowered himself 100ft down the side of the iconic building.

Finlay said: “I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do the abseil because I'd felt so unwell in the run up and I even had my sister, Kitty, on standby to take my place if I couldn’t do it.

"Luckily, my symptoms improved a bit, and I managed to dig deep and get down. I was scared though because I don't like heights.

“I set myself a £400 target so I'm really happy with the amount that has been raised and I’d like to say big thank you to everyone that sponsored me.

"I hope the money can help lots of children that need the care of Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”