Proud mother of inspirational fundraiser Finlay Church visited our hospital today, Wednesday 21 June, to unveil a state-of-the-art, MRI-friendly television, purchased in memory of Finlay.

With the help of brave Finlay, who sadly lost his 18-month battle against cancer in November 2015, mum Penny and her family raised an incredible £21,550 to fund the specialist TV, which is housed inside our magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite.

Safe and MRI-compatible, meaning the TV does not interfere with any imaging, children and young people treated at our hospital now have a welcome distraction during their 40-minute scans – a process many can often find daunting.

As well as helping children to relax and stay still, the TV will also support with world-leading research, enabling the MRI scanner to see how patients’ brains are processing pictures and allowing staff to gain a better understanding of conditions.

Penny, from Alvechurch, raised the phenomenal funds alongside her family and friends, including her husband Wayne, 11-year-old son Finlay and his siblings, Kenzie and Tegan, following Finlay’s malignant glioblastoma brain tumour diagnosis in 2014.

Despite undergoing gruelling chemotherapy, radiotherapy and clinical treatment, Finlay’s passion and determination to help others always shone through. In addition to funding the newly-launched TV, the Church family has also donated a further £29,037 to our charity to help other children cared for by our Oncology Unit. Penny, 43, said:

Birmingham Children’s Hospital is a place no parent or family should have to go to, but the hospital has truly incredible doctors, nurses and surgeons – some of the best in the world – and we cannot thank them enough for everything they did for our darling boy, Finlay.

As a family, we wanted to raise as much money as possible, to not only maintain the world-class care at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, but also help with life-saving research to help other children in the future fighting Fin’s horrendous disease.

It was an honour to visit the children’s hospital today to unveil our TV and see the positive impact our donations have made. Fundraising was part of Fin’s legacy and supporting the MRI suite was something Fin was particularly passionate about. His brain scans sometimes lasted over an hour and he felt the TV would make the experience for children, like him, that little bit easier.

Named ‘Child of Courage’ at the Pride of Birmingham Awards and ‘Young Fundraiser of the Year’ at our charity’s Hundred Heroes awards, Finlay and his family have completed some remarkable, record-breaking charity work.

From organising their ‘Angels Without Wings’ ball, to dressing up in dressings for our Big Bandage fundraiser and completing a successful World Record attempt for the most teddy bears in a row, lining up 15,534 bears.

Finlay’s doctor, Professor Peet, Professor of Paediatric Oncology at our hospital, added:

Brave Finlay’s courage and inspiration touched us all and we’re truly grateful to the Church family for raising such an outstanding amount of money for our hospital, allowing us to continue to push boundaries and improve standards of excellence in research, education and treatment.

Accurate clinical imaging is vital in diagnosing and treating many different conditions and it was humbling to attend Finlay’s TV unveiling today, which will help us to entertain, educate and reassure patients during important MRI scans. Once again, a huge, huge thank you to the Church family.