8-year-old in need of heart transplant as mother tries to support son

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An 8-year-old boy needs a heart transplant and his mother needs help as the child fights for his life.

Finnley McCullum is a vibrant kid, who just a few months ago, was moving to the beat of his own drum. He was born with a congenital heart defect and has been in and out of the hospital his entire life.

"He has had a lot of surgeries related to that and has just been a fighter his whole life," said Sally McCullum, his mother.

Finnley loves BTS and Taylor Swift and spent more than three months confined to the ICU awaiting a heart transplant.

"We were hopeful, and we got a heart in July of last year," McCullum said. "Unfortunately the heart did not work, it immediately failed as soon as they got it into him."

McCullum said she anxiously waited as doctors conducted an extreme life-saving surgery to her only son.

"The surgery alone was just hard on his body," McCullum said. "His lungs shut down for a while, then the same thing with all of his kidneys shut down."

Throughout his confinement his spirits have never dampened, and most of the hospital staff know him and his infectious spirit.

"I think there have been many miracles that have gotten Finnley just to this point because I don't think he would be here without those miracles," McCullum said.

Finnley has an artificial heart and there's hope he will be eligible for another transplant. For his mother, who is a speech therapist at JCPS, medical bills have piled up. While FMLA protects her job for 12 weeks, it's completely unpaid, so McCullum needs help.

"We have a GoFundMe that we have put up and also what we really want for Finnley is prayers," McCullum said. "His situation is day by day and sometimes it's hour by hour."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.