Every time two football-mad Darlington brothers step on the pitch they take a risk - and it’s all because of a shared life-threatening blood condition.
Ollie and Harry May, aged nine and seven, both suffer from haemophilia, a rare condition that affects the blood's ability to clot.
While things like rugby and MMA are off the cards, the young Manchester City fans have been able to keep playing the sport they love - but it hasn’t been all plain sailing.
Darlington Railway Athletic Club star Ollie is now days away from surgery on his ankle after a year of “going over” on it, with weak joints common for people with haemophilia.
They also have to travel all the way up to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for any bump or injury - a trip that has happened several times in just the last two weeks.
It’s left mum Charlene May, 36, fearing for the future when they go off and start their own lives - with Harry just recently having his dreams of being in the army shattered due to his condition.
But a shining light has been the RVI team - who go so “above and beyond” that dad Jamie May, 33, is set to take on the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for the hospital.
‘It was a rollercoaster’
Harry was diagnosed shortly after being born “with a huge and purple black eye”, prompting a barrage of various scans and tests.
"It was a rollercoaster," said Charlene.
A couple of months later Harry was tested and diagnosed with haemophilia A, where the level of factor VIII in his blood is too low to complete the blood clotting process.
Older brother Ollie was then tested and also found to have haemophilia A - but his factor Vlll levels were higher then Harry's, meaning he had a less serious form of the condition.
Charlene discovered she was in fact a carrier and had passed it down to her boys.
“We were living with it but there was nothing that triggered it,” she said.
“We were very much in denial thinking they’ll be fine and that it can’t affect them that much. We took it with a pinch of salt.
“They both started football for the Darlington Railway Athletic Club, and there were no injuries, trips, or bangs. We just had regular yearly trips to the RVI.”
However, one year ago, Ollie, who is in Year 5 at Mowden School, went over on his ankle badly, prompting Charlene to take him to A&E in Darlington.
Despite no major issues being flagged, Ollie soon went over on his ankle again, something that kept happening for the next six months.
“His joints were so weak,” Charlene said. “We went to the physio and he had a fractured fibula, and that it had been broken for a whole year.
“Ollie was in a moon boot for eight weeks and couldn’t do sports - he was doing so well playing in defence. And the second the cast was off, he went over on it again.”
Ollie is now set to undergo surgery on Thursday, where a plan is in place to ensure he has factor VIII replacements ready to go when needed.
Once out of the operation, he will have a full cast on his leg for six to eight weeks, then a further two weeks out of football, and will be in a wheelchair at school during this time.
He was meant to go for the operation two weeks ago - and since then went over on his ankle, prompting another RVI trip.
Harry - who also plays for RA and is in Year 2 at Mowden School, then also had to go to hospital just days later to get emergency medication after suffering a nasty headbutt during football, which caused a “huge hematoma”.
“You couldn’t write it,” she said. “He had to have tranexamic acid and hours of observations.”
‘The team have been amazing’
While Ollie and Harry’s conditions have been difficult to juggle and “eye opening” for their parents, seeing all the hard work from NHS staff prompted dad Jamie to launch a fundraiser.
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Former nursery Charlene also even decided to change career after Harry was born, and now works as a health visitor following years of training.
Network Rail worker Jamie will take on the Three Peaks on November 30 as he raises money for the haematology ward at the hospital.
Charlene said: “The team has been amazing at the RVI. He just wanted to do something for them - we just want people to see what it's really like.”
- To contribute to the fundraising effort, click HERE or visit: https://tinyurl.com/4dnbdwvw
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