The EFL has collaborated with Foundation of Light to provide a once in a lifetime experience to a young Sunderland AFC supporter who has been battling major illness.
Fifteen-year-old Regan Carter was overwhelmed to hear that he would be attending Sunderland’s Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium as a VIP alongside his family.
The gift of four hospitality tickets means that Regan’s life-saving older brother, Rean, will also be able to attend the game.
Football-loving Regan was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia on 10 June 2023, with the doctors advising his parents that there was a high possibility that they would lose him within the next three days.
Regan, who has been attending sessions with Sunderland AFC’s official charity since the age of six, has always shown positivity and enthusiasm on the football pitch.
The now 15-year-old approached his battle with Leukaemia in the same way, never losing his smile, and after several rounds of chemotherapy and a full stem cell transplant from his heroic brother, Rean, Regan started to recover.
He returned home just before Christmas 2023, and in the summer of 2024, his aspiration check came back as negative, meaning no Leukaemia cells were found in his body.
While Regan is still in the recovery stage, he is getting stuck into doing the things he enjoys.
He is back to regularly attending the Beacon of Light, doing strength and conditioning work in the PROformance gym. Regan has also been able to lace up his football boots again and get out on the pitch, as well as regularly watching his beloved Sunderland AFC at the Stadium of Light.
When Regan returned to full-time school, his nurses feared that it may be too early, but his positivity, determination, and bravery shone through again and he took the big step in his stride.
His courage was recognised at Foundation of Light’s 2024 Gala Awards Dinner, with Regan receiving the Wear Courageous Award sponsored by Sweeney Miller Law.
Unfortunately, he came down with an illness before the night and was not able to collect the award. He was represented by his best friend Brandon at the awards evening.
The opportunity provided by the EFL to reward a supporter with a VIP experience at Wembley Stadium has allowed Sunderland AFC’s official charity to give Regan the recognition he deserves.
On Regan's Wembley trip, his mother, Leanne, said: "I really want them to come home with a win, if for anybody just for him.
"He’s on cloud 9, he can't wait. He's very excited about it because he was in RVI for 10-months having a stem cell transplant, so it’s his first time of being able to go away from Sunderland.
"We had to get pre-authorisation from the RVI for him to go. His older brother, who was sixteen at the time, gave his stem cells to save his life."
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