Brave, beautiful Eli Thompson, 2, passed away on June 4 after a difficult battle with congenital arhinia. it’s unclear what caused his untimely death at this time. Eli was dubbed the ‘Miracle Baby’ after he was born without a nose, a surprise to his parents, Brandi McGlathery and Jeremy Finch, who didn’t know he would have the extremely rare condition. His father took to Facebook to announce his son’s tragic death, and honor the little guy’s life and legacy:
“We lost our little buddy last night. I’ll never be able to make sense of why this happened, and this will hurt deeply for a long time,” Jeremy wrote. “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. I’ll forever look forward to seeing him at the gates of Heaven waiting on me to give me another one of his famous fist bumps! I love you little man. Rest in peace with my Father.”
Eli’s stepmother, Anamarie Finch, posted an adorable selfie with a smiling Eli, captioned, “I miss you so much bubba! 💔You will forever have a piece of my heart. I love you precious boy” Following his death, the family asked for donations to pay for little Eli’s funeral, and their community got together to raise over $16,000 on GoFundMe — far more than the $12,000 they were aiming for. Eli was beloved by all he met, and even those he didn’t. The toddler had a dedicated following on Facebook from people fascinated and inspired by this miracle baby’s life.
When Eli was born, his mother immediately realized that something was odd — her baby didn’t have a nose. Doctors rushed him out of the room to examine him, and were shocked to discover that she was right: Eli was now one of 40 people in the world to suffer from congenital arhinia, born without a nose, nasal cavity or olfactory system. Immediately after birth, doctors performed a tracheotomy so that the newborn could breathe while eating. Eli was an otherwise healthy, and happy boy who had begun to communicate with baby sign language. His favorite sign, unsurprisingly, was “cookie.” May he rest in peace.
HollywoodLifers, our thoughts are with Eli’s family during this difficult time.