MERIDIAN, Idaho — The Meridian community is coming together to support a local family after their 5-year-old son, Finley, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.
Businesses across the Treasure Valley are organizing fundraisers and events to help ease the burden on the Domy family during treatment.
It all started on June 16, after a routine dentist visit when Alex and Dallas Domy noticed their son Finley's face was drooping on one side. The couple initially wrote it off as a short-lasting effect of the dentist visit.
WATCH the Domy family's full story
"We all thought it was going to be something minor," they told me.
But after a few days, Finley's condition got worse. He started throwing up and his balance was off. That's when Dallas and Alex knew something was wrong and took Finley to their pediatrician, hoping to find answers.
"The pediatrician came in before and said, 'we found something'...and my heart instantly dropped," Dallas said.
After hearing this, Dallas immediately called her husband, telling him he needed to come right away.
"He was telling us all about it and I kind of started getting the picture so I asked him...is he going to be OK?...and he just kind of looked at me," Alex said.
RELATED | American Red Cross declares emergency blood shortage as summer donations drop sharply
Doctors put Finley on an extensive treatment plan — radiation 5 times a day for 6 weeks, and specialized medications.
"That was the hardest day of our lives. But since then we've been making progress and taking it day by day," Dallas said.
Hope slowly came after a few weeks, when doctors told the couple that Finley was responding well to the medication.
"He's doing way better than he should be, you know, and so that's a really good sign that he's strong and he can, he can fight this thing," Alex said.
Since then, the Meridian community has rallied, raising money for the family.
Robert Hernandez, a local barber and owner of Keystone Barbershop, says he has known Dallas since they were children, and helping the family felt personal.
"My older brother was diagnosed with the same brain tumor in '98, so it really hits home for me," Hernandez said.
He hosted a fundraiser where he cut hair for 24 hours straight and will donate the money to the Domy family at a benefit at the Frontier Club in Meridian on Sunday.
"There's no words we'll ever be able to say thank you with," Dallas expressed.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Finley and his family. You can find the link attached here.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
