Boss orders Town fan to get well
FOOTBALL really is a matter of life and death for one devoted fan today who responded to an instruction to get better from Town boss Jim Magilton.When Ipswich Town supporter Steve Cheeseman went into a coma following a fall down a step his family were told to begin making arrangements for his funeral.
FOOTBALL really is a matter of life and death for one devoted fan today who responded to an instruction to get better from Town boss Jim Magilton.
When Ipswich Town supporter Steve Cheeseman went into a coma following a fall down a step his family were told to begin making arrangements for his funeral.
But the 42-year-old defied the prognosis of doctors when he stirred to recordings of his beloved football team, and an audio message from the Blues boss.
After three weeks of keeping a bedside vigil following the accident in November 2007, his mother, Margaret, could not believe it when her son's eye flickered open as she played recordings of matches to him.
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Magilton filmed a DVD in which he told Mr Cheeseman: “We hear you're not well. Get yourself fit, we want to see you back here at Portman Road.”
Now his wish is due to be fulfilled next month when a team from St John Ambulance bring Mr Cheeseman to Ipswich to launch a book about his amazing story.
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Mr Cheeseman, who began supporting the club from the age of 15, is now continuing his recovery from the accident in the Beaufort Care Home in Coventry.
With his amazing story set for publication in a new book chronicling what it means to be an Ipswich follower, he is looking forward to the prospect of meeting players past and present at its launch at the Corn Exchange, Ipswich, on February 11.
The team from Suffolk will then provide entirely free first aid cover at the signing before transporting him and his parents back home.
The round trip for St John Ambulance Suffolk will be in the region of 530 miles….and worth every inch to bring a smile to the face of this great survivior, according to St John Operations Manager Keith Hotchkiss.
“This was a story which really touched us at St John Ambulance Suffolk,” he said. “So many of us within the organisation are Ipswich Town Football Club fans, but Steve is certainly a special person and his devotion to the club deserves to be rewarded.”
Mrs Cheeseman, 63, who has written the account for Ipswich 'Til I Die, said the idea for approaching Ipswich Town came from her sister-in-law Glenise, but the response from Steven had been more than they could have hoped for.
Camilla Haycock, spokeswoman for Ipswich Town Football Club, said: "We are so pleased that Steve is on the mend and well enough now to come to Ipswich next month for the book.”
Ipswich 'Til I Die is supported by The National Literacy Trust, with any proceeds going directly into community projects.
Has your life been saved by something out of the ordinary? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.
