Visit of man with MND 'inspirational' for Canaries
Courtney Pedlar/Norwich City FCNorwich City has welcomed a supporter who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) at the age of 28 behind the scenes at its training ground.
Jonny Butcher has been watching City games with his father since he was five years old and has had a season ticket since 2003.
His story caught the attention of the club after it was posted by his wife on social media, and Canaries boss Philippe Clement called the visit "inspirational".
He said: "What I absolutely loved was it didn't just feel like a PR exercise, it felt like they really cared and that's what made it special."
Since his diagnosis in February, Butcher said people had rallied round and "done so much for us".
The post was on wife Ana's Instagram reached more than 600,000 views.
Last week, he was given a behind-the-scenes tour at the Championship club's training ground in Colney.
Speaking to Rob Butler and Chris Reeve on BBC Radio Norfolk, he said: "We got to watch a training session and had the full tour and lunch with the first team lads and their coaching staff."
He received a signed pair of gloves from goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic and was invited to watch Tuesday's match against Derby County at Carrow Road.
Butcher is due to meet former Norwich star Darren Huckerby , who he said was "my hero... my number one".
"The first year I got a season ticket was 2003-04... I always loved watching him play," he said.
Courtney Pedlar/Norwich City FCCanaries head coach Philippe Clement said: "He is a lover of the club. You can see it in his eyes so we were really happy we could give him a good moment... it makes you really humble and grateful of the life we have because without this, the most important thing is to have good health in this life.
"He's been a lifelong fan for 22 years — I have to say he was inspirational for the team."
MND is a condition which causes muscle weakness that gets worse over time.
There is no cure and, while it affects adults of any age, it usually affects people over the age of 50, according to the NHS.
Butcher added: "We always say Norwich City is a family club, but what does that really mean? It was so special and you could tell they really cared and I'm sure they would do that for so many other people, not just me — it was an incredible experience.
"Away from football he [Clement] is such a great guy... it just feels so surreal hearing the head coach saying those kinds of things about you."
There is live commentary on the Derby County match on BBC Radio Norfolk, via your radio or digital service, but not on the internet.
The programme starts at 19:00 BST, with Canary Call following.
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