Well want can we say about our day other than it was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. 

From the minute Foxtrot Oscar Cancer first contacted me following my initial request right up to now has been amazing. 

The request was made as Alan and I really wanted to show Tom that positive and good things can happen even when you are having an awful time.  Tom struggled with Alan’s cancer diagnosis more than we did.  He had a lot going on at that time with mock GCSE exams as well as preparing to travel to South Korea for the World Scout Jamboree and has had some problems at school with one or two people.   He couldn’t concentrate properly, didn’t want to to be away from Alan too much at that time and even now keeps asking Alan if he’s ok.  

Tom is a huge Arsenal fan and has it’s been a dream for him to watch them play at The Emirates.  Alan is really a Chelsea fan but this wasn’t about Alan it was about Alan and I trying to help Tom smile and give him memories that will last forever.  

We didn’t tell Tom about the tickets until the week before when we were having a tour of the stadium (tickets that he’d received as a gift).  To say he was excited is an understatement. We then had just over a week of him talking about it. 

Then on the Friday before the game the FOC team kindly turned up at our home unbeknown to Tom with an Arsenal away shirt.  Tom was so shocked but extremely excited and grateful and he just kept saying to us how kind it was of you and that you shouldn’t have done that as the tickets were more than enough. 

On the day we got the train from Crawley to St Pancras and stopped for some lunch.   We then got the tube to Arsenal and when we got off there were lots of stalls selling football stuff and Tom bought himself an Arsenal bucket hat and a match day scarf.  The guy he bought the scarf from also gave him a match day scarf from the game against Fulham that had taken place the week before. 

We walked up the steps at the back of the stadium across the bridge and around to the front soaking up the whole atmosphere.  
We then we had a coffee in an amazing cafe opposite the stadium.    Once we had our coffees we walked across the road to the front of the stadium and were stopped by a couple of guys from Premier League Productions who were filming the fans for pre-match shots that would be shown around the world and they asked if they could take some shots of Tom to which Tom said of course.  

Then it was time to start queuing to get in. The queue moved really quickly and the security staff were really friendly.    

We walked into the stadium and started to walk down the steps to our seats and Tom was for once speechless for a few seconds.  He kept saying this is crazy and how he couldn’t believe he was actually there to watch a match.   
The seats we had were in an amazing position. Row 6 just behind where they check VAR and just alongside where the team and officials would be sitting.  Tom could not believe how close we were.  So close you could smell the grass.  

We saw the pre match warm ups and the build up to the game was amazing. 

The atmosphere was fantastic and to see Tom’s face beaming was just simply wonderful for Alan and I.    

When the teams came out then it was game on and the crowd were great.    

Although disappointed when Man Utd scored but absolute joy when Odegaard scored for Arsenal a minute later.  

The second half –  especially the last 10 minutes or so were tense, exciting and just simply brilliant especially as Arsenal made it 3-1.  

What a great game to see as your first match at the Emirates 

Tom loved very second and joined in all of the Arsenal chants and songs and simply soaked up every ounce of atmosphere. 

Even Alan the Chelsea fan got stuck in and cheered on Arsenal.   He and I loved it all.  

After the match we had told Tom that we had to wait in our seats for a lady called Grace as she wanted to chat to us and get some feedback about our day.  

Grace found us and asked us to follow her.  Tom kept asking where she was taking us so we just said somewhere to give the feedback away from the crowds.  What he didn’t know was that she was taking us to hopefully meet some of the players.  When Tom realised this he just kept saying I can’t believe this and this day just keeps getting better all the time. 

The players came out.  We didn’t get to meet all of them but we met a few and they all had their photos done with us and Tom managed to get quite a few autographs too.  Every player that we met was so lovely to talk to and were all very polite too.  

The staff that we met at Arsenal were also all friendly and polite and nothing was too much trouble.  

We then left the stadium to come home and as we’d been waiting to meet the players most of the crowd had gone so we got straight on the tube back to St Pancras and the straight on the train back to Crawley.   

The whole day went as smooth as clockwork and all 3 of us had the best day ever and will never forget it.  

We cannot thank you enough for helping our boy smile and making one of his dreams come true and for giving us such a special day as a family after a stressful few months. 

You are all simply amazing. 

Michelle, Alan & Tom