Wanderers’ Community Ambassador Tony Kelly paid a special visit to a young Bolton fan and his family on Wednesday afternoon after hearing of his recent operation.
Twenty-month-old Jude Morrell, whose dad Andy is a season ticket holder in the Lion of Vienna Suite at Macron Stadium, recently underwent a seven-hour fronto-orbital remodelling operation at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool after being born with a condition called Unicoronal Craniosynostosis.
Despite being expected to remain in hospital for up to two weeks meanwhile, the youngster surprised everybody by leaving after just a few days and now just over a week-and-a-half on, Jude is improving day-on-day and is well and truly on the road to recovery.
Speaking following the visit to the Morrell’s family home in Stockport, Tony said, “I was made aware of little Jude by my daughter whose friend works at Alder Hey.
“She told me that there was a young Bolton fan on the ward and then I saw that his dad Andy had posted about it on Twitter with a photo of him in his Bolton kit.
“From there, I managed to arrange a visit with the help of our media team and it was an absolute pleasure to meet little Jude and his family.”
He continued, “He’s an incredibly brave little boy and even so soon after his operation, he’s already exceeded expectations in his recovery.
“To go and meet his family was an honour – they are very much part of the Bolton Wanderers family and I am sure that every Bolton and football fan will join me in wishing Jude all the very best in his recovery. He is a friend of mine for life!”
Jude’s father Andy meanwhile added, “It was such a pleasure to have Tony come and visit Jude and ourselves.
“Having been a lifelong Bolton fan myself, I remember watching him on the terraces at Burnden Park and so to have him make the trip to us, just to see our little boy, was fantastic.
“Jude loved having him around for the afternoon too and the smile on his face said it all. It’ll be great to show him the photos from the visit in a few years’ time too.
“We really appreciate Tony coming though and I’d like to thank him and Bolton Wanderers for their support.”
