give Ethan & his family something to look forward to

This is Ethan’s story.

Ethan was a really active and adventurous kid, always happy and smiling. Ethan loved being outside, and playing football for his team - Groves U13s Colts.

At just 13 years old, Ethan was sadly diagnosed with MDS. A very rare form of blood cancer, even more rare in children.

Ethan became poorly and the doctors just couldn’t figure out why. It was thanks to his Mums persistence that Ethan was eventually referred to Alder Hey and Manchester Children’s Hospital, where he is now under the countries top Paediatricians and Doctors, who have wasted no time in working out a plan for his treatment and road to recovery.

Ethans not the energetic, loud & bonkers lad he was before. He’s tired, he’s sick and he’s missing out on such a significant part of his childhood. He can’t play football, or climb, or run around with his mates. Some days just getting out of bed is a struggle.

Ethan is due to start his treatment very soon, and once his treatment has finished we’d love to send Ethan and his family away on a holiday of his choice. We are reaching out to the football community in hope that you (and anyone else that is able to) can help us make this happen, by making a donation. Together, we can raise enough funds to give Ethan and his family something to look forward to. To push their worries aside, if just for a short time, where they can make precious memories together.

Ethan’s football coach describes him as: ‘Just a great kid, never any trouble. Hes fast as lightening. He plays on the wing, is a defenders nightmare and scores some cracking goals! But at the same time he's as soft as anything. Genuinely the nicest young man you'll meet.’

As a club, a community, and football family, we at the Groves FC are wishing Ethan a full recovery, and hope to see him back on the pitch in the not so distant future.

Some words from Ethan’s Mum: “Nothing can ever prepare you for the words ‘your child has cancer’. It didn’t ever cross my mind that was even a possibility. I just knew he wasn’t right. Mums (and Dads) trust your gut! Trust that you know your child and know when somethings not right. Advocate for them when you feel like no one is listening. Eventually someone will listen. Ethan’s got a long road ahead, and he’s finding so much comfort in the support from his friends, family and community and we just want to thank everyone for helping support us through this time. We can’t wait for Ethan to get back to his usual outgoing and bubbly self.”

Thank you for reading.