A desperate mother has launched an urgent appeal on behalf of her constantly 'exhausted' son. Fin Cormack, 18, was diagnosed with a rare and severe health condition, but his mum has desperately appealed for help.
Mother's Plea for Son's Life
Mum Clare Cormack, 46, described her boy as a 'quiet guy' who has a smile that 'lights up everything'. Despite this, Fin's journey through life has been anything but easy. Medics grew worried about him within hours of his birth, finding his Sats (measuring oxygen in the blood) dangerously low. He was swiftly placed on a ventilator, and doctors fought to keep him alive before visiting a cardiac consultant.
Clare, from Prenton, said it emerged Fin had been born with Ebstein's anomaly, a rare and serious heart condition that has required numerous open-heart operations throughout his young life. Chronic fatigue, a well-known symptom of Ebstein's anomaly, has plagued Fin ever since.
Deteriorating Health
In 2018, he underwent cone reconstruction, a specialist surgical procedure designed to repair the tricuspid valve. While he initially showed signs of improvement, his symptoms have deteriorated considerably in recent years. Clare said: 'Over the years that followed, his exercise tolerance was just so poor. We were just noticing this massive decline in his fitness, in what he was able to do. He was absolutely shattered. He'd go on a walk and he'd have to stoop down and put his hands on his knees to get his breath back.'
She added: 'He's spent quite a few years really struggling with his exercise capacity and just feeling dreadful in himself when he does anything exertional, like walking up the stairs. He just really struggles and it would be nice for him to have more of a normal existence.'
Heart Failure Diagnosis
Doctors have recently delivered the devastating news that Fin is suffering from right-sided heart failure and may need a transplant. However, this is an option neither Fin nor his family are willing to consider. Clare said: 'It was just like a bolt from the blue. They said, we think he's struggling, he's got heart failure. When they'd first mentioned the transplant, Fin turned around and said he wouldn't have it.'
She explained: 'You don't know whether you are going to be able to accept that heart or what complications you're going to have. It's almost like the stopwatch is being pressed. Once you press that, once you have your heart taken out and somebody else's put in, whether you accept it or reject it is down to your body.'
The NHS reports that among 100 patients, between 30 and 40 will suffer rejection episodes within the first year following a transplant. Certain patients face a greater rejection risk than others. Following a heart transplant, patients must take strong immunosuppressants to prevent rejection. Despite careful adherence, rejection remains possible, requiring rigorous monitoring.
Hope from the Mayo Clinic
Nevertheless, a specialist team at the Mayo Clinic in the United States has examined Fin's case and believes they could potentially repair or replace a damaged valve in his heart, possibly postponing the need for a transplant. The family wishes to pursue this after consulting with families living with the same condition. The operation carries a price tag of up to £200,000, which the family must raise themselves.
Medics cannot provide a timeline for life expectancy, but Clare believes this represents their strongest opportunity to improve his condition. She said: 'We think the best bet is to go to America to have the surgery under the world's leading experts of Ebstein.'
She added: 'We can't do anything. We can't book anything. We can't book him in for this surgery until we've raised the money to pay for it to be able to book it. I think his best bet is to get over there and have this operation ASAP because if you leave it too long, his heart becomes weaker and he will become more unwell.'
Fundraising Efforts
A GoFundMe page was launched to fund the treatment and has already raised more than £12,000. A group of 100 mums from across Wirral are also joining forces to tackle an 18-mile sponsored walk in Fin's honour on Saturday 20 June 2026.
Clare said: 'We're so emotional all the time because you can't believe how many people are supporting you and have got your back through times like this. The donations that have come in have just been absolutely outstanding. We're blown away.'
