Hi, my name is Sarah and I work at the hospital. I first met Stix about 22 years ago and that was when one of the managers came to me and asked if I would help organise the Leeds United football players visiting the children’s wards at Christmas, obviously I didn’t need to think about it and automatically said yes. Then I got my first phone call from Stix in which we discussed dates for the visit. We communicated for a couple of weeks of which he certainly kept me on my toes ensuring I gave him rough numbers of patients in each ward as he didn’t want any children going without a gift.
The day finally arrived it was a Tuesday afternoon and I waited outside the main entrance for the coach to arrive. There it was, it pulled up and the first off was Stix and he walked up to me and introduced himself and then off we went. As this was the first time, I had done this visit I was nervous as hell, but he made me feel so relaxed. We walked onto the first ward, and I honestly cried as the children had the biggest smiles on their faces and the joy each player gave the children was unreal. This visit was the year 2000 and in them days sky tv, look north and the Yorkshire evening post were there too.
Following the success of this first year we continued doing this for 20 years, unfortunately this only stopped because of COVID and the wards were unable to have visitors due to the restrictions, however this didn’t stop Stix we tried to get a zoom call together with a few of the children and players. Unfortunately, due to sickness on both sides this never happened.
I would just like to say thank you for arranging these with me. What you did for all the poorly children (some of which were going through cancer treatments) is honestly amazing. He always put them first to make sure that every single one of them had a smile of their face.
Below are some messages I received from some of the parents over the years.
“Thank you is not enough, what you have done for my son at this very difficult time is providing him with happy memories that he will always have with him. Thank you” – parent of SY
“My son was admitted with heart issues at just one year old. We as his parents are huge Leeds fans and would like him to grow up following this fantastic club. The picture you took, we got developed straight away and is sat proudly in a frame with the players holding our precious boy. Thank you for arranging this special moment”. – parent of DL
“When you turned up on the ward, my little boy just stared at the players for ages. He just couldn’t believe his eyes. His words to me were “Mummy they are the Leeds United players, are they real”? I could see in his eyes that he didn’t know what to say. The players handed him some gifts, took some pictures and then sat with him chatting. There was no rushing, and they genuinely were interested in him. Thank you for doing this and making dreams come true”. – parent of HD
This is just a few from the parents. The staff loved it just as much. Working in the NHS is hard work, often working long hours with no breaks and well above their contracted hours. This isn’t just the nurses, doctors but the admin and cleaning staff too. Nothing was every too much for Stix, because he always put others before himself.
On a personal note, he has become a good friend and his wonderful wife Anne. In fact, 10 years ago when I found out I was pregnant, after I had told my mum and dad, he was the next person I told. It was such early days, but he always asked how I was. When my son was born, I contacted him to let him know but also to let him know that even though I was on maternity leave I would still be organising the visit to the hospital. My son loves football, plays for 2 of our local teams and follows Leeds United (now a season ticket holder) and when he was 5 years old, Stix invited him to Elland Road before a game to meet his favourite player Alioski, he took him down the tunnel and onto the pitch and we took lots of pictures. These memories will stay with us all forever, and this is what Stix has mainly done, ensure that children and parents had memories. He is such a special man, and anyone would be honoured to have him as a family member or a work colleague, I feel so privileged to call him my friend.
What he has done for the club, the fans, the players and members of the public is unbelievable.
If you didn’t support Leeds before you met Stix, you certainly did afterwards.
Thank you for everything you have done for the poorly children and for me but most of all, thank you for being a friend.
All my best wishes
Sarah Taylor
Leeds Hospitals
(Registered charity number 1170369)