A young footballer from Runcorn has raised £1956 for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after being diagnosed with arthritis.
Taylor Crabb, 17, ran 120km through October to raise money after falling ill and being admitted into hospital in 2022. At first, GPs believed Taylor was suffering from tonsilitis. But an increasing temperature and rash made mum, Maria, take her son to Warrington Hospital.
She said: ”At that point, we didn’t realise how serious it was. The doctors keep you as calm as possible. They mention things to you, but don’t tell you to Google or anything. They just mentioned this HLH (Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis). But at that point (we) didn’t realise that it could be potentially fatal.”
After showing signs of improvement, Taylor was discharged. But it wasn’t long after that he would need further help, which is when he was admitted to Alder Hey.
Maria said: ”We couldn’t get his temperature down. His bloods were all over the place.
”There were people coming and going from different departments. There were people wheeling different machines in, scanning him. Because he was so poorly, his veins were closing, and they couldn’t get things into his veins. It was really traumatic at that point.’’
Whilst in high dependency, Taylor’s condition got worse, meaning he had to be moved to intensive care where he would then be sedated.
Maria said: ”It was hours before they came and got us. When we went in, Taylor was sat up and he was disoriented and he was saying ‘Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Due to his white and red blood cells fighting against each other, his immune system had gone into overdrive putting a lot of strain on his heart.
Taylor would return for regular tests and was diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) in September of last year after he was readmitted to Alder Hey. Overall, it took two years for the eventual diagnosis.
SIJA causes wide-spread body inflammation and rashes, making Taylor’s joints ache and become painful. He now takes a weekly injection to reduce some of the pain.
Despite this, Taylor was determined to accomplish his goal and continue to play football four times week for his two teams, Runcorn Linnets U18s Blues and Revolution U19s, even if some days were harder than others.
Now, he has run 5 x 24km over the course of a month to raise nearly £2000 for Alder Hey as a way of saying thank you for the specialist care he received.
Taylor said: ”Yeah, definitely towards the end, it was hard. At the start it went well, as time went on, the runs became longer and stuff was hurting me a lot more. I was struggling to keep up with football.
”A few times my mates would come and then sometimes some of the football team would come. At the very end of it, we did the last run at Runcorn Linnets around the stadium a few times and I think about 20 people joined in.
Added Taylor: ”Everyone who turned up at the end, that’s what made me feel probably the most proud. Once it was finished, I was lost for words.”
Taylor holds Linnets close to his heart. So much so, they wanted to show their appreciation for his support.
His mum said: ”There were points when morale was really low. I’d reached out and said is anyone available to come and see him. Runcorn Linnets sent someone out called Josh Christian and he came up to visit Taylor while we were in hospital.
”When he was at his worst, Linnets made a big fuss, they made an announcement of him being in the stadium. They’ve played a big part in his journey.”
Taylor’s original goal was £300. But after reaching £200 within the first two days, it was increased to £500. In the end, he raised more than six times his initial goal, reaching £1956.
He said: ”More and more money came in and I wasn’t expecting it at all. The more that was coming in I was thinking, I’ve got to get it done.”
Taylor has been invited by Alder Hey at the start of December to be presented with a cheque of the money he has raised. And he isn’t done with fundraising yet as he has his sight on a half marathon run next year for one of his friend’s relatives.
Maria said: ”He blows me away. Me and Dad both say the same, for what he’s been through and then for how he’s dealt with it. Even when he was at his sickest, he was worried about other people.
“There was never any point where he was selfish and worried about himself. Saying I’m proud doesn’t feel like enough words.’’
Images provided by Maria Crabb.
