A FOUR-year-old boy suffering from a serious kidney disease is “over the moon” after he was chosen to be the mascot of his favourite football team.
Colby Reid, of Greenfields in Upton, Chester, will be dressing up as ‘Lofty the Lion’ to throw his full support behind Bolton Wanderers at their home match against West Ham on Saturday, April 9.
The Acresfield Primary School pupil, who has been attending matches since he was six months old, had to have his right kidney removed last year due to reflux nephropathy, a condition which causes a blockage between the kidney and the bladder. He has been left with just one kidney, which also has been affected by the condition and only functions at partial capacity.
His mother Hayley Crimes, 21, said: “He has had problems since birth.
“He first had the reflux repaired in 2008 as it kept causing him really bad infections.
“But it was still giving him problems and so he had it removed last year. His other kidney is also not working at full capacity and it still has to be monitored.
“It is also causing him to have internal infections. We have to go back in July for another scan to see how he is doing.”
Colby’s only other sibling, Ryker, who is seven months old, is not suffering from the condition although doctors are keeping a “close eye” on him as reflux can run in families.
Hayley added: “Colby has been attending matches most of his life as his nan and uncles used to take him.
“He loves football and even though he isn’t on a team yet he is already playing football quite a bit.
“He is really excited about this. He just can’t wait and he wants to meet the players.”
His grandmother, Sue Reid, of Donne Place, Chester, added Colby was an “avid football supporter”.
She said: “We are really proud of him.
“His uncles Todd and Andrew are also big football fans and they take him to matches all the time. He really loves seeing Bolton player Kevin Davies.
“By looking at him you seriously would not think anything is wrong with him. He is such a happy guy. He is really excited about doing this.”