Harry Taylor was a teenage goalkeeper who had impressed enough at his local side Dukinfield Tigers to start playing at Curzon Ashton when he woke up 12 months ago not feeling right.
His parents took him to hospital, and from there he would be blue-lighted to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for emergency surgery to correct what was realised as a twisted bowel.
The surgery appeared to have gone well, and Harry was expected back home in time for Christmas. But it didn't work, and Harry remained in hospital until March after more operations.
He came home for a few weeks but was hospitalised again and placed in the Intensive Care Unit and then the High Dependency Unit as doctors worked to get to the root of his problems. His mum and dad, Sarah and John, took the decision to take time off work and live at Ronald McDonald House with their other son Joe, 18, to concentrate on getting Harry home again.
After another month spent watching every City game in a hospital room - putting shirts and flags up behind the bed to show their support - Harry finally left hospital again in May in time to watch City win the the FA Cup, and the Champions League.
This story is from the December 24, 2023 edition of MEN on Sunday.
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This story is from the December 24, 2023 edition of MEN on Sunday.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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