Whenever you watch a soccer game, you’ll notice the “mascots,” or young kids, leading each team out of the tunnel and onto the pitch.
Bradley Lowery is a five year old Sunderland supporter suffering from terminal neuroblastoma. The team and their fans have been with Lowery as he has been receiving treatment and fighting this disease. Lowery got the chance to lead his team out against Premier League leaders Chelsea on Wednesday night. That alone is cool enough, but what happened next is even cooler and will warm even the coldest heart this holiday season.
Because of his latest treatment, Bradley is not able to celebrate Christmas with people so an Everton supporter set up a campaign to bring Christmas to him. Lowery has received tens of thousands of Christmas cards from good people across the globe as soccer fans from all corners send Lowery their Christmas wishes and support in his fight.
“They have come in from Australia, New Zealand and all over the UK,” his mother Gemma said. She and his father add that Bradley wants to receive as many Christmas cards as possible.
Here’s a Facebook Page set up to to help Lowery continue his heroic fight. On it, there’s an uplifting message:
“Can I just say up to now the response has been immense and we cant thank everyone enough for your kind words.
“We look forward to reading your kind words with Brad and the gifts and money he has received is fantastic.
“We want to say a huge thank you to you all for helping make Bradley’s Christmas the most memorable ever.”
#SAFC fan Bradley Lowery, who is terminally ill, receives 11,000 Christmas cards after @Everton fan starts campaign pic.twitter.com/J5C2NSrDc8
— BBC Look North NE&C (@BBCLN) December 13, 2016
What’s sad about this story is that after two years of intensive chemotherapy, Bradley was cancer-free for 18 months. But the cancer returned in June, and his mother Gemma said recently that treatment will only give him more time to live, and will eventually be terminal. £700,000 was raised for Bradley to have antibody treatment in New York, with Everton pledging £200,000 of that total.
If you want to send a card to Bradley (and we all should do our part), send them to this address:
5 Attlee Avenue, Blackhall Rocks, Hartlepool TS27 4BY.
Help Bradley’s Christmas become a little bit brighter, and if we all do our part, it will be.
A heartwarming story that’s needed during the end of a year that has seen far too few stories like it.
