'We're eight years on, and Bradley is still raising awareness... I'm the proudest mam in the world'

EVERTON WRITER JOE THOMAS TALKS TO GEMMA LOWERY ABOUT HER BRAVE SON'S BOND WITH THE BLUES AND WORKING ON HIS INCREDIBLE LEGACY, TO SUPPORT CHILDREN SUFFERING WITH CANCER

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Mason Allan, second left, and his brother Miles, meet Everton players Idrissa Gueye, Tim Iroegbunam and Seamus Coleman

(EVERTON FC)

CAN'T even put it into words because it was so special... I'll be forever grateful for that.”

Gemma Lowery, is standing next to the pitch at Everton’s new stadium but her thoughts turn to some of her happy memories at the club's old home.

It was Goodison Park where Blues embraced her son, Bradley, so emphatically, and the support from fans, club officials and former chairman Bill Kenwright created a special bond that offered the family strength as the schoolboy bravely fought cancer.

That Bradley was a Sunderland supporter mattered little. With Everton, the Lowery family felt a connection, one that has been sustained even since Bradley passed away in 2017, aged just six-years-old.

The relationship started when the little boy, who was fighting Stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma, was guest of honour at the Stadium of Light when the Blues travelled there in 2016.

His story prompted a £200,000 donation from the club to support his efforts to receive specialist treatment in the USA and the following January, when Sunderland visited Goodison, he was carried onto the pitch by home forward Romelu Lukaku in a Mackems shirt that had the words ‘thank you Everton’ on the back.

Reflecting on some of the family’s memories of Goodison, Gemma added: “I remember when Bradley was on the pitch in his little Everton kit and the sprinklers came on and his little face, he was fuming, but it was really funny - he did get wet, just a little bit.