A Swinton family left devastated after the tragic death of 17-year-old Connor Leah is organising a memorial football match in his honour this weekend.
Manchester City-mad Connor had been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and epilepsy at birth, with his family later discovering he was also visually impaired.
After a long and valiant battle with illness he sadly passed away at Salford Royal Hospital on Sunday 31 January from ARDS, or Acute Respiratory Arrest Syndrome.
A JustGiving page has been set up to help give Connor the “send off he deserves”, with a target of £2,000.
And a charity football match kicks off at Brookhouse Playing Fields at 12pm on Sunday 7 February with all the proceeds going towards funeral costs.
Over half of the initial total has already been generously donated by members of the public since the page was created on Monday 1 February.
The page was set up by Cherelle Houghton, a family friend.
Despite the list of conditions that the 17-year-old had to live with, Connor defied the odds and fought through everything that was thrown at him.
Connor’s brother Danny, 25, said, “He was a cheeky boy, but he always smiled.”
“He was a City fan in a family of United fans but that’s what made Connor himself, he liked to be different.
“He was always happy no matter what or how many hospital admissions he had, his smile captivated everybody, he really was my inspiration.”
“Connor was especially cheeky with women, he liked to to try his luck. The donations from complete strangers and everything is overwhelming and it is really helping us as a family to grieve.”
This Sunday Connor’s friends and family members will play against Barton Town FC.
Barton Town’s manager Anthony, 24, told SalfordOnline.com: “It is an honour to be asked to play for this cause especially as Danny is one of our players.”
“We’ve had pre-season games booked for weeks but we found out on Sunday the news about Connor and for obvious reasons Danny didn’t want to come to practice.”
“We held a minute’s silence for Connor before the game last Sunday.”
“After speaking to Danny we decided that a football match would suit Connor and the cause very well, we look at it as a tribute to Connor.”
“We even cancelled this week’s opposition to enable us to play on Sunday.”
Connor’s family asked to say a special thanks to the nursing staff and doctors who took care of Connor on the HDU (High Dependancy Unit) at Salford Royal Hospital.
“They were brilliant, absolutely fantastic they made us feel as comfortable as they could and it was a massive help.”
The full details of the event are as follows: 12pm, Sunday 7 February, Brookhouse Playing Fields, Buckthorne Lane, Patricroft, M30 7QH.
You can donate to the JustGiving fund here.
