Jordan Pickford surprised his biggest fan Harry Garside after receiving a personal letter from the young Evertonian which shared the story of his recent tough journey.
At the age of five, Harry became critically ill and was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis. Subsequently, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. There, it was discovered that Harry had an eight centimetre long brain tumour.
Harry bravely withstood nine hours of neurosurgery and doctors were able to remove 90 per cent of the tumour. The remaining part was embedded deeply into his central nervous system.
Unfortunately, nine months later that remaining part of the tumour became active again. As a result, Harry had to endure a future 28 days of radiotherapy treatment.
Tragically, as Harry's treatment was nearing completion, his father passed away unexpectedly. The young Evertonian was forced to put his grief on hold to complete his treatment.
On the back of this difficult period in the eight-year-old's life, Harry's mum, Laura, wrote to Pickford to share the story of her son's remarkable bravery and affection he holds for Everton's and England's No.1.
Pickford was inspired by Harry’s bravery and courage, and the young Evertonian was invited down to Finch Farm to meet his hero.
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