THE mother of a three-year-old boy living with a form of cerebral palsy has spoken of how Wrexham AFC has lit up his life.
If you are a follower of all things Wrexham on Twitter, then you may have recently come across a video of Carter Parry having the time of his life watching the Reds from the Racecourse stands.
That video, posted by mum Alison Murphy, has been viewed over 16,000 times on the social media platform.
Carter, who is from Wrexham, was born two months early and at 18 months old he was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy.
That condition causes damage to the white matter of the brain and is, according to mum Alison, as a result of Carter being born prematurely.
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Alison added: "Carter visits Gobowen Hospital quite often having serial casting done on his legs and splints, for when the casting isn’t on. He has physiotherapy at Wrexham Maelor and also visits his paediatric consultant who has cared for Carter from the minute he was born.
"He has recently started a more fun therapy, hippotherapy, which is horse riding but to help the muscles in his hips from turning inwards.
"We were told Carter likely wouldn’t walk until he was seven - the age where he can have operations on his legs - but we are very lucky that he got up one summer evening and took his first steps just one month before his second birthday."
In between the hospital appointments, days out watching Wrexham AFC have become an escape for the whole family, and Carter in particular, who enjoys watching the Reds stars play.
Carter, who will be attending Ysgol-Llan-Y-Pwll upon turning four in September, enjoys clapping for the players and eating chips with his best friend Jack.
His favourite player is 'super' Paul Mullin and he likes to celebrate a Wrexham win with a roly-poly.
Here he is enjoying himself at the Racecourse ...
⚽️ @Wrexham_AFC bringing light into his life instead of him thinking it’s constant hospital appointments and therapy 🥹 #WxmAFC #cpfighter pic.twitter.com/L9WatSbsT3
— alison. (@alisonnjanee) August 8, 2022
Mum Alison says the club 'means the absolute world' to the family.
She said: "I was introduced to Kerry Evans the disability liaison officer by one of my friends and Carter went for a quiet walkabout session where you’re shown the way you would get to your seats and the amazing sensory room they have.
"Kerry and all of the stewards at the quiet zone are the best thing to come into our lives, Carter loves going to watch Wrexham but he also loves where he sits. I don’t think he would cope as well anywhere else in the ground.
"We are season ticket holders at the quiet zone and Carter has a junior dragons membership."
PIC: Alison and her three-year-old son Carter.
"Going to Wrexham to watch the matches he doesn’t feel any different to anyone else and it’s 90 minutes of pure love and happiness where he is just having fun, chanting - mainly for Mullin - and being a typical three-year-old boy with no care in the world.
"He does a roly-poly at the end of every match just in the corner of the pitch and it makes everyone’s day when they see how happy he is doing it.
"I didn’t like football until I saw the love it brought to my child, and I’m pretty certain it’s going to be a thing for life that we do together."
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