Ashley’s Story: The Big Plans of God
May 16, 2025
Mama Bear Care empowers women who have received a prenatal diagnosis to embrace their Mama Bear role, equipping them to advocate for their special babies with fierce love and tender care. When a mama comes to our community, she has received an unexpected diagnosis. With each diagnosis comes a different story. That story becomes a story of hope no matter how long each baby spends with his or her family. Why? Because every family who embraces their pregnancy, allowing their baby to live each and every moment that God gave for them to live, is believing their baby has a purpose. That’s hope!
Today, we introduce a Mama Bear who was given a diagnosis for her little son Finnley. He was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a severe form of dwarfism. We are so thankful that Ashley agreed to share her story and precious photos of Finnley. Isn’t he a sweetheart?!
Thank you, Ashley, for sharing!
Ashley and Finnley’s Story: The Big Plans of God
At our anatomy scan, the doctor informed us that my son’s bones were measuring shorter than they should be measuring at that time. We were referred to a Maternal Fetal Medicine clinic for further evaluation and testing. At the initial visit at the MFM clinic, we were told that our son had skeletal dysplasia, which is a broad diagnosis for many different bone abnormalities. We had blood test done to narrow down exactly what he had.
Our son, Finnley, has an extremely rare form of dwarfism. He has severe achondroplasia with developmental delay with acanthosis nigricans. There are only 8 other reported cases worldwide. It not only affects the linear length of his legs and arms, but also affects the size of his chest cavity and, therefore, compromises his lungs. We were told that his condition seemed severe and that we should be prepared for the worst. The doctors told us that he probably wouldn’t live long after birth with how small his chest cavity was appearing on ultrasounds. Termination was discussed with us due to the size of his chest cavity, but that was absolutely not an option for us. We clung to God and trusted that He had big plans for his life and Jeremiah 29:11 has been the verse I’ve clung onto the most since his diagnosis.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11
We knew the best thing we could do was trust that the Lord had big plans for his life and that His ways are higher than our ways! We continue to trust Him with all the unknowns to come with his diagnosis. We are very blessed that we have very supportive families to help lead, guide, and encourage through this journey.
Finnley was born crying and with breath in his lungs, praise the Lord God almighty! The Lord has performed miracle after miracle in Finnley’s 6 months of life. We spent 3 weeks initially in the NICU, came home for a week, and spent 3 more weeks in the NICU due to some respiratory issues. Finnley is currently on oxygen and a BiPAP machine. The oxygen provides him with supplemental oxygen that is needed, and the BiPAP machine gives him extra pressure that is needed to expel extra CO2. We have had a few hospitalizations due to respiratory issues since coming home initially. We praise God for ALL of the miracles He has performed in His life.
The [Mama Bear Care] ministry has been so sweet, supportive, and has reached out on ways they can be praying for us and my son. The care package that was sent meant a lot.
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