Northampton Town were led out for the Forest Green Rovers game on Saturday by a very special young man.
Cobblers fan Archie, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II, has lost strength in his muscles since birth and as a result requires the use of an electric wheelchair. He is a very inspirational little boy He never complains, and despite the huge battles he faces he is always fighting with a smile on his face.
SMA is a life-shortening condition where the motor nerve cells in the spinal chord become diseased, which causes a decline in physical strength. As a result, walking and eating become difficult and a simple chest infection could be fatal.
Although there is medication abroad available to treat Archie’s disease, overseas one injection of the drug Spinraza would cost his family about £75,000 every four months for the rest of his life. Archie’s friends and family are campaigning for this drug to be made available on the NHS.
Archie is 6 years old and his favourite player is Sam Hoskins. Archie’s hobbies are superheroes, Lego and football.
The Cobblers invited Archie to be a mascot on Saturday to help raise awareness of his condition and his fundraising.
To follow Archie’s fight, please see xarchiesarmyagainstsma on Facebook.