A teenage Barnsley fan who has had both legs amputated has been motivated in his battle to walk again by Reds winger Ryan Hedges.
Joe Morris, 19, suffers from hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) which affects his muscles, tendons and nerves. He has undergone 23 operations on his legs, having one amputated in 2016 then the other in February this year.
His father Andy posted a good luck message to Joe, who also suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, before the second operation and it was seen by Wales international Hedges who got in touch and visited the lifelong Reds fan in Barnsley Hospital. The pair have kept in touch and met up several times during Joe's recovery which has seen him have two prosthetic legs fitted as he learns to walk again.
Andy said: "Joe's friendship with Ryan has massively increased his self esteem and desire to keep going. He was having a lot of down days because he hates being in hospital, but Ryan has really motivated him. We didn't tell him Ryan was coming and, the first time they met, his face was a picture.
"You expect footballers to stay maybe ten or 20 minutes then go but Ryan stayed for two hours and has kept in touch. He's been absolutely top drawer. We're really grateful to him as a family and he's a fantastic young man. Joe loves spending time with Ryan and they have a really good bond.
"Ryan has given Joe some signed boots and a shirt and he's taken us out for lunch."
Joe is now using a walking frame as he gets used to the new legs. His dad said: "Joe hasn't been able to go to many matches in the last couple of seasons but he's pretty much pain-free now and getting better at walking. We are hoping to get him a season ticket for next season. He is hoping to walk into Oakwell for the first game of next season which would be a massive achievement."
Hedges is currently away on international duty with Wales but has agreed to meet up with the Morris family during pre-season. Hedges the Chronicle: "I just got in touch and said: what can I do to help? I went over to the hospital and gave him a pair of my boots. I spent a couple of hours with him and we got on really well.
"He sends me videos of how he is getting on. He's a great role model to anyone who has gone through difficulties in their life. He is walking now so it shows that anything can be achieved. He is a real superstar and I look up to him."
Hedges has some experience of health issues after fearing that he would go blind a year ago when a weight machine broke while he was in a gym, causing a medal bar to land on his face, leaving him with a fractured cheekbone, eye socket, nose and sinus.
"You can't really compare the two situations but what happened to me did make me realise that you can't take your health for granted."
Hedges was awarded Community Player of the Year in Barnsley's end of season awards. He said: "There is so much going on in football that sometimes you can lose touch with reality and you need to take a minute to realise there are people out there going through really hard times. "Footballers get a lot of bad press and they are in the spotlight all the time but sometimes you can use that to do something good. It's not just me, there are lots of good things going on at Barnsley and other clubs."
