Liverpool letter makes "dreams come true" for boy with half a heart

Monday 05 July 2021

A nine-year-old islander born with half a heart has had his "dreams come true" when he received a letter from the Manager of Liverpool FC, as well as a signed football shirt.

Finley, who has hypo-plastic left heart syndrome, was originally due to meet the Premier League team at their training centre last year but the visit was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The little boy, who is in Year 4 at D’Auvergne School, has had three heart surgeries in Southampton in his young life.

His visit to the Premier League club, which he is a big fan of, had been planned with the 'Make a Wish' Foundation and he had been waiting "patiently for a couple of years as the team had been very busy", his mum, Kirsty Maire-Louise Godfrey, explained.

In a post shared on Facebook, she said she had had to tell him the visit unfortunately wouldn't be able to happen due to the pandemic.

Pictured: Finley was "over the moon" to receive his letter.

However, Finley was delighted to receive a letter from the team's Manager, Jürgen Klopp.

"This last year has been very strange for us all," Mr Klopp wrote. "The effects of the pandemic are felt on every level and on behalf of everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club I would like to start by saying that we are conscious this time has been made even more difficult for some.

"We would have loved nothing more than to have invited you to the AXA Training Centre, to meet us and enjoy watching a training session. Sadly, the restricted lives we find ourselves in does not allow for this and we don't know when we'll be able to invite our fans once more.

"Not being able to fulfil plans that have been dreamt about many many times will never be easy to accept."

Mr Klopp added he hoped Finley would find some comfort in a "small gift" from the team, which turned out to be a shirt from James Milner, the team's Vice-captain, and concluded his letter by saying: "Please know that you'll never walk alone; we are with you and you are loved!"

Kirsty told Express Finley was "over the moon" to receive the letter and said it was "the best day of his life."

"Thank you to the lovely team over here who work along side the UK 'Make a Wish' foundation," Kirsty said. "Although he hasn’t made it to meet the team, this has absolutely made all his dreams come true!"