Help support former player Richard Oxtoby's home-based care

The family of former Wanderers player Richard 'Dick' Oxtoby are asking for people to help them in their bid to provide him with home-based care so that they can spend time with their loved one during his extremely difficult period of ill-health.

The Chesterfield-born defender spent time on the books of the club between 1955 and 1960 where he made a handful of appearances for the Trotters alongside stints with Tranmere Rovers and Runcorn, but he also coached a number of youth and semi-professional teams in the Bolton area.

With over 500 players having learned from his experiences down the years at sides based in Bromley Cross, Moss Bank and Turton amongst many others, the now 79-year-old retired from football in his seventies having clocked up 12,000 voluntary hours supporting local football.

Sadly however, he has been struck down with a rapid acceleration of Lewy's Body Dementia - effectively a combination of Parkinson's and Dementia - and as a result, he has gone from living an independent life to being in hospital and may never get the chance to live in his new bungalow with his wife of nearly 60 years.

With that in mind, his family are aiming to contribute towards some of the cost of the essential care needed to support Richard to spent a little time at home following the onset of a fast and furiously debilitating condition.

Speaking about the fundraising, his daughter Jayne said: "On March 19, my lovely dad, Richard, was rushed into hospital.

"I thought that he had suffered a stroke. He could not stand up, while he was slurring, slumped to one side and was very very confused. As it turns out, he had not had a stroke, but he was suffering from a severe episode of Lewy’s Body Dementia.

"This cruel condition had accelerated super fast following a sepsis infection in December and we never saw it coming.

"To go from one day walking in the park to the next in hospital being told it is likely you can never go home, it is even more cruel when you have moved into your new retirement bungalow just a few weeks before.

"So, here is my plan - "Rescue Richard" - as home is where the heart is and Richard’s heart is with my Mum in their little retirement bungalow.

"To have a little time at home, Dad needs night-waking care and probably day care too which is out of reach for an everyday family.

"Dad’s condition is heartbreaking. It can fluctuate from hour to hour and day to day. Sometimes he can walk, sometimes he cannot; sometimes he can feed himself, sometimes he cannot; sometimes he is lucid, but a lot of the time he is not.

"This devastating rapid deterioration has happened in just four weeks. When he is lucid, all he wants to do is come home. On his good days, in his good hours, he is just so sad, scared and lonely.

"This condition could have been caused by dad heading footballs nearly all his life. He was a professional footballer as a young man, with Bolton Wanderers being how he found his way to Bolton and found his way to Mum.

"It might be that Dad is unable to be cared for at home, but we need to move fast. If we cannot make this wish come true, ROFC will be used to make Dad’s life comfortable, try to get him home during the day and contribute to other care packages.

"I commit to manage ROFC with integrity and transparency. Our lovely kind donors will be kept informed about how funds are spent and as a family we are hard-working and self sufficient and it feels uncomfortable discussing this very private matter so publicly.

"I suppose when you have to fight, you fight and my darling Dad is worth the fight."

To donate to Richard's plight, please visit the family's Just Giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rofc-jayne-tramontana-1

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