The start of 2019 has been very busy for us at SCF HQ and this Saturday just gone, 23rd February, we were able to grant our first Sporting Wish of the new year!
Shane is 14 years old and lives in Stourbridge along with his mum Jodi, stepdad Darren, and his 2 younger sisters and younger brother. Shane is currently waiting for a kidney transplant and is having to undergo dialysis 3 times a week. As a fan of West Bromwich Albion we felt that Shane deserved the chance to not only go and watch his team play, but to do so with all the special VIP treatments! Making our way to the Cyrille Regis Suite we were treated to a pre-match meal surrounded by an array of former West Brom players who were all very welcoming and chatty with Shane throughout. With a great view, which you can see from the video below, we saw West Brom play against Sheffield United in a game which saw the 3rd and 4th placed teams in the league battle for what could potentially take the victor to the top of the table if other results went their way! The game was end to end action and with Sheffield United taking the lead through Kieran Dowell in the 14th minute it was a tense match which saw West Brom have 17 attempts on goal. Sadly for us the result ended at 1-0 with West Brom unable to draw level but the day was by far from ruined as Shane and Darren were still all smiles throughout.
After the match we were able to get access to the players lounge and so made our way to the Sir Bobby Robson Suite where Shane was lucky enough to meet Mason Holgate, who was happy to pose for pictures. Mason is currently on loan at West Brom from his parent club Everton. Having started his career with Barnsley, Mason won Barnsely's Young Player of the Year award in the 2014-15 season before making his move to Premier League side Everton on the 15th August 2015. Mason has also represented the England Under 21 side and was the starting right back in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff at West Brom in The Cyrille Regis Suite who helped make Shane's day as enjoyable as possible, from the ex professional players who were happy to have a chat and pose for pictures to the staff who helped us get Players Lounge access.
Once again a special thank you has to go out to everybody that makes our Sporting Wishes possible. Darren said to me that it was 'the happiest I've seen him and the most chatty he's been for ages' which just helps solidify how incredible the work we do as a Children's Charity is!