Callum sets up a great day for a young U's fan
Oxford United were pleased to welcome Sam Soanes and his friends as special guests at training yesterday.
Sam is an #Ox4Life season ticket holder who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and his mum Gina told us:
“Sam suffers with Cerebral Palsy but thankfully his condition is mild. It predominately affects his mobility and although he is able to get about, he tires quickly and struggles to keep up with his friends when playing sport, something he is very keen to do.
“He has a fantastic positive attitude and never lets his condition stop him from having a go. He has to attend numerous hospital appointments and at least once a year he has to have Botox injections under a general anaesthetic and then spend 2-4 weeks with both legs in plaster. This is the procedure he underwent in June.
“He usually takes this all in his stride though this time due to a delay with the procedure he became scared and initially refused to go through with the operation. It was only when I promised to contact the OUFC players via Twitter to see if they would send him a message (as well as a day off school!) that he agreed to have his op.”
United forward Callum O’Dowda responded to Gina’s tweet by contacting her to ask if he could go and visit Sam at home, which he did while Sam was still in plaster. During this visit Callum invited Sam to a training session, which he came to yesterday along with brother Adam and his friend Freddy.
The boys got to have a mini game on the Kassam pitch alongside the first team training session, and had some time with Michael Appleton before having a kick about with Callum.
Gina said: “I cannot thank you enough for making us feel so welcome. The boys are relaying the stories you told them to anyone that will listen, they were very impressed to meet Michael Appleton who apparently is really nice and Mark Ashton was very cool! They were equally really chuffed to meet the players, get autographs and have their photos taken.”