'Oh my God, how good are these?' - Leeds United open up training ground for special visitors

Roux Owen only turned four last month but he's already had 14 operations to remove a massive brain tumour and help deal with its consequences. Although the tumour was not cancerous, it was life-threatening and there were times when his situation went beyond fragile into genuine concern that he would not come through. Parents Antony and Amy spent months at Roux's hospital bedside in Leeds during an intensely difficult period, that they are now on the other side of, albeit not without remaining challenges.

"The tumour is all gone now but it was huge, it was a case of bit by bit removing it," Antony told the YEP.

"It wasn't cancerous, but it was quite an aggressive fast growing one that was getting bigger and bigger. There were times when it was looking like he wasn't going to make it. Over the course of three or four months, they chipped away at this tumour and eventually they believe they got rid of it all. We've had clear scans and we're two years clear now. Touch wood he's in decent health at the moment.

"Part of the impact of the brain tumour was that he developed epilepsy. From about one he started having seizures and they were struggling to control it with medication. He's been on the waiting list for Vagus nerve surgery, where they put a stimulator into his chest and then attach it to his nerve. That was his 14th surgery and hopefully that'll help control his epilepsy. He can't walk at the moment, fingers crossed he'll get there, he's got Cerebral Palsy, he's blind in his left eye, quite severe developmental delay because of everything and he's got a shunt inserted because he can't drain away his own CSF [cerebrospinal] brain fluid. He's got a lot going on. He's the mechanical boy."

In those early weeks and months Antony and Amy's phones were constantly pinging with messages from friends and family, enquiring after the latest news. To make it easier to inform their loved ones and a growing number of wellwishers, Amy started an Instagram page entitled 'Roux's Army' and a support network sprang up around their updates. Among the page's now 6,900 followers is fellow Hull native Liam Cooper, captain of Leeds United, who picked up on Roux's situation through a friend of a friend and began to keep in touch with the Owens.

"One of our friends is friends with him and they were sharing stories about Roux and he became aware of it," said Antony. "He's always been quite close in terms of contact, sent kits to Roux on his birthday and helped get Leeds United things for our charity stuff. Leeds donated a VIP package that helped raise a couple of grand."

The Leeds United connection grew when another online contact, Stephen Garner, took it upon himself to contact the club and request mascot duties for Roux, and when the family decided that might be too much to ask of him, another email sparked the idea of a visit to Thorp Arch to meet the players. Although the invite was extended to the whole family, there was one Owen in particular for whom this encounter would be especially meaningful.

"Roux's brother Noah is really into football, he's football mad and his bedroom is covered in football stuff," Antony told the YEP.

"We didn't tell him what we were going to do. We booked it for half-term and started driving towards Leeds and he was asking where we were going but we wouldn't tell him. It dawned on him when we pulled up. The players were amazing. Noah didn't really realise until the end of the day but later I told him he'd played table tennis with two international footballers. When Illan Meslier came out, and he's about 7ft tall, Noah was in complete awe of him. He was in the gym, watched them train and walked over to watch the goalkeepers. He was like: "Oh my God, how good are these?" Bamford came out and gave him a FIFA shield, signed, and he's got a signed shirt coming in the post."

Antony and Amy have always been very conscious of the impact Roux's health journey has had on his six-year-old brother and attempted to minimise it as much as possible but even with the best will in the world some sort of toll was inevitable. So days like the one spent as a family with Leeds United are precious.

"We lived at the hospital in Leeds for four months straight and we saw Noah once or twice a week for the afternoon while he lived with his grandparents and we were by Roux's bedside," said Antony. "A lot of our time at home has been on Roux because we have to, he needs care. You do your best to make sure Noah doesn't feel it, but it's nice when you get to recognise the sibling. They struggle as much as you do and go through a different kind of pain with their brother in hospital. We've often had to up and leave in the middle of the night and get grandparents round while he's asleep because Roux has had a seizure. He's had a lot of time taken from him with his parents and younger brother. It was really nice to see how much everyone warmed to him and how much he got out of it. It was special for him to be spoiled a bit.

"It was his first day back in school on Monday and they're allowed to tell everyone two things about their half-term and he was like: "I'm going to tell them about Leeds." He was buzzing about it.

"Sometimes with these things you can kind of feel like a bit like a spare part and like they're just going through the motions, but they were really going out of their way to make you feel as comfortable as possible. It wasn't a token gesture, it was really, really special."

Amy is running the 2024 London Marathon for Brain Tumour Research and you can donate HERE, while Roux will be involved in a London fashion show featuring kids who have lived with brain tumours, raising money for The Brain Tumour Charity and brainstrust. For more information and to donate click HERE.