Hello everyone,
I would like to send a sincere thank you to Leigh Rugby, LSV, Matt Lawton (Leyther Matt) and Andy Parkinson, and anyone else who had a hand in the following story.
I arrived from Vancouver on Tuesday as I have said before on here, to fulfill my dream of going to Leigh's first home game in Super league with my Dad, who is 81, been watching Leigh religiously since he was 15, and is still a season ticket holder. I have tickets booked for Leeds and Saints right with them in the west stand. He is responsible for me being a Leyther as he took me since I was 3 and we were ever present behind the sticks home and away until I emigrated in 1995. He kept going until this day.
10 days ago he ended in A&E with pain around his side. He had felt rough for a few weeks. A bunch of checks pointed to kidney issues and he was eventually released. Well I got off the plane Tuesday and he had been taken back in, and yesterday he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. He is scheduled for surgery next week to remove a large tumour but a previous triple heart bypass means that is very risky.
The dream appeared gone and in the big scheme of things not important, but such a blow to me and my Dad.
Then a series of remarkble things happened.
The surgeon heard of the original reason why I was here and said it was exactly the tonic my Dad needed. She agreed to let him home for the weekend if he felt up to it,then at least we could watch the game on sky on a big screen. My Dad was going to be too frail to sit in the night air for 2 plus hours.
On a faint chance that my Dad would be up to going at all though I called Matt today, and emailed Andrew Parkinson. Matt told me that as expected everything indoors had been gone a long time ago. I spoke to my Dad at hospital and he said he just could not sit out in the cold.
I then went to the ground to pick up the tickets as at least we would have a momento of the game. Matt invited me into the office and I was stunned to be given tickets in a corporate box. Somehow, between him, Andy, the club AND the LSV, they are giving us access to seats that had been held in reserve. I tried to hold it together but I was reduced to tears (and that's saying something for a grumpy old copper). I left the ground in an absolute daze, and shot straight to the hospital to tell my Dad. His is very sick and quite frail, but he almost leapt out of the hospital bed and said let's get out of here. We walked out of Wigan Infirmary a couple of hours ago, with my Dad wearing his Leigh scarf, and huge smile on his face. He told anyone that would listen that he was going to watch Leigh beat Leeds !
The dream is alive, and we are going to have the night of our lives regardless of the result, though I'm sure the lads will turn it on.
Sorry for the long post but I wanted everyone to know just how much, what everyone has done for my Dad means to us both.
Our club and the LSV, Matt and Andy, from the bottom of my heart thank you.
And to anyone who has read this to the end, see you tonight
