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A personal and touching moment from Charlton.
WhenIwasLittleBoy
Posts: 5,430
My dad was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He first went to his beloved Charlton in 1951 and would skip school of afternoon to watch them play in the afternoon before teams played under floodlights. Stories that he would tell his grandchildren about how he used to them train during school holidays, his hero’s such as Johnny Summers, The great Sam, Derek Ufton.
A season ticket holder for over forty years, and was one of the first to sign up to Valley Gold when it was launched at the training ground.
As per normal when the final whistle went at the end of the season, next morning, renewed his season ticket, same seat Black A on the end.
He has now been told by his consultant that he can no longer go to see his beloved Charlton for some time due to he is vulnerable to all infections. He was devastated that he can no longer see the team that he has spent watching every Saturday afternoon for the last 70 years.
I called the club and asked about the chances of a refund on his ticket as the only match he had attended was the Derby match, in which I was told to write in and each case was judged on merit that I thought was a bit harsh, however an email was sent with the details of my dads illness and that he will not be able to attend any of the matches.
The work mobile rings, looking at the screen it shows “ Charlton Athletic Holdings”. Just expecting it to be the ticket office just answered it in the normal of answering my phone, when the lady at the end introduced herself as Raelynn from Charlton Athletic to talk about my email and that will be giving a full refund etc.
All of a sudden the penny dropped who this woman was, and she was very keen to find out how Dad was, the stories that he had, about our family, my children where we had a ten to fifteen minute conversation.
She is going to also get Thomas to ring my dad on Saturday when he comes out of hospital.
In the past I have questioned the appointments and decisions that have been made, but to have this personal touch, in which I am sure that most clubs would have just got the ticket office to call me back or send an email went a hell of a long way.
if the call on Saturday gives my dad a bit more happiness in this fight that he is facing where he has told that it is not curable it will mean everything to our family.
As per normal when the final whistle went at the end of the season, next morning, renewed his season ticket, same seat Black A on the end.
He has now been told by his consultant that he can no longer go to see his beloved Charlton for some time due to he is vulnerable to all infections. He was devastated that he can no longer see the team that he has spent watching every Saturday afternoon for the last 70 years.
I called the club and asked about the chances of a refund on his ticket as the only match he had attended was the Derby match, in which I was told to write in and each case was judged on merit that I thought was a bit harsh, however an email was sent with the details of my dads illness and that he will not be able to attend any of the matches.
The work mobile rings, looking at the screen it shows “ Charlton Athletic Holdings”. Just expecting it to be the ticket office just answered it in the normal of answering my phone, when the lady at the end introduced herself as Raelynn from Charlton Athletic to talk about my email and that will be giving a full refund etc.
All of a sudden the penny dropped who this woman was, and she was very keen to find out how Dad was, the stories that he had, about our family, my children where we had a ten to fifteen minute conversation.
She is going to also get Thomas to ring my dad on Saturday when he comes out of hospital.
In the past I have questioned the appointments and decisions that have been made, but to have this personal touch, in which I am sure that most clubs would have just got the ticket office to call me back or send an email went a hell of a long way.
if the call on Saturday gives my dad a bit more happiness in this fight that he is facing where he has told that it is not curable it will mean everything to our family.
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Comments
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My thoughts are with your Dad! Hopefully he can get back to The Valley before too long.4
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Wishing you and your family all the best @WhenIwasLittleBoy1
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A very nice touch. Best of luck to your Dad.2
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A Very nice touch from Raelynn and the club. Best of luck to your dad and hope the gets back to the valley soon!4
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Lovely story and one I’m sure your dad is chuffed about. Best wishes to him.3
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Best wishes to your Dad2
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Lovely story. Best wishes to your dad, and hopefully the Addicks will put a smile on his face this season.1
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See they’re not all bad.
Best wishes to your dad, hope he can return at some point.3 -
Best wishes to your Dad, hope Charlton can do the business on Saturday for him!2
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Sorry to read this, best wishes to your dad and also to you and the restof your family.1
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Best of luck to your dad. Yet another heart-rendering story to highlight why we support our local community-driven football club.3
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Sending positive vibes to your and your Dad. I hope you can both enjoy a game together at The Valley again soon.2
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@WhenIwasLittleBoy nice post.
My father was diagnosed with the same a couple of years ago - in the height of Covid. It’s pretty shitty and won’t go away but he knows this and you wouldn’t know it to see him. In his 70s and he just keeps on going. If anything it’s made him more resilient.
there is life after the diagnosis and he will hopefully be back on his feet and cheering us on again with you soon.It means every game I go to with him I enjoy nowadays. It’s not just about the football - it’s quality time together and making memories thst will last a lifetime.Good luck 👍18 -
Wishing you and your dad all the best mate.
Hopefully see you soon.0 -
Beautiful story, well done Charlton, and good luck to your dad2
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Sorry to hear mate, good luck to your old man1
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Sorry to hear, Good luck to the old boy.
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Great read, thanks for sharing, best of luck to your old man.1
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Lovely story, best wishes to your dad.1
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Thanks for sharing. All the best to you and your dad.
Make sure you get Charlton TV set up for him2 - Sponsored links:
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It's these stories that show our club can get it right. I wish your dad all the best and hope something changes so he can be back at The Valley soon.2
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Good luck to your dad, hope he can get back to the Valley asap.2
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I wish your Dad all the best and hope he is back in his seat in good time for us to close in on promotion next spring!
The club can get things right and this is great to see. My own dad wrote a heartfelt letter to Thomas explaining why, after decades, he wasn't renewing his season ticket. Time has started to take its toll and he now needs to be selective as to how often he comes. Raelynn became involved and Dad received a hand written reply from Thomas thanking him for all his support over the years - a really nice touch that was much appreciated.6 -
Praise to Charlton but raises questions as to How the club get some things so right and then other things so badly wrong?Best wishes to your father - hopefully streaming is an option for him to keep that Saturday connection for him.2
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Sorry to hear about your dad's illness, but hope that the call will make his day.2
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Here's wishing you all the best fellow Addick.2
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Well done Charlton and best wishes to your Dad2
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Best wishes and well done Raelynn3
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Can only add my best wishes to your dad in his health issues and hope that it's not too long before he can get back to the Valley he so clearly loves.
Well played the club and Raelynn too of course.1 -
Thank you for posting this @WhenIwasLittleBoy best wishes to you Dad and the rest of your family1
