Some of the incredible people from the WeeOscar4Life campaign spoke to Stephen and Leona Knox and asked if it would be appropriate to submit an article to CQN for today, the first anniversary of Oscar’s passing.
What started in the Celtic community went worldwide and had a profound effect on Oscar, his family and the wider community. We lost Oscar, but there is a legacy which continues to help children similarly afflicted. It’s right that you should read the effect of what you did for Oscar, and what continues to be done in his name.
This is the article:
To Stephen and Leona he was their son, to Izzie he was her brother to the rest of the world he was known and revered as ‘Wee Oscar’ however Oscar Knox was also known ‘Bravest boy in the World’, ‘an inspiration to a Nation’ and ‘the boy who united Northern Ireland’.
Oscar’s story first came to light on the Celtic Quick News blog where Stephen (Knoxy2000) posted about Oscar’s fight against cancer. A number of CQNer’s decided they wanted to help and this is where WeeOscar4Life started. The WeeOscar4Life campaign team organised various fundraising events and activities for the Oscar Knox Appeal. Collections that raised in excess of £2,800; CQN badges raised over £3,600; however there has been one event so far that completely surpassed all expectations and really proved beyond doubt that the Celtic supporters are amongst the most generous in the World.
On Saturday 22nd September 2012 at Celtic’s game against Dundee at Celtic Park, over 200 volunteers collected money on behalf of the WeeOscar4Life campaign as part of the Oscar Knox Appeal. Wee Oscar’s Green Bucket Army raised an astonishing £32,000 in just two. When you include a very successful race night at Celtic Park and a sponsored cycle to Belfast; the WeeOscar4Life campaign raised well in excess of £100,000 for the Oscar Knox Appeal.
Stephen and Leona had made the decision that a proactive social media campaign would be their best chance of raising the much needed money to enable Oscar to be sent to America or Germany for the specialist treatment that would give him the best chance of beating the neuroblastoma cancer. The Oscar Knox Appeal raised the £250,000 target in just 3 months and has raised over £700,000 now in total. The profile of their campaign and appeal ensured that Oscar’s story became news the world over.
The WeeOscar4Life campaign also relied heavily on social media to raise awareness of our events. Our campaign team was just a few therefore the support and help of the wider online community was essential. Every one of the WeeOscar4Life campaign team would like to personally thank and show our appreciation to everyone who shared our calls for help. Most of all, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to each and every person who made donations.
Something that you should be aware (and extremely proud) of is that when you raised £32,000 at the Green Bucket Army collection, your money was the catalyst and final piece of the jigsaw that made it possible for Oscar to fly to America for the specialist treatment he so desperately needed.
As it turned out the trip to America did not go to plan and very quickly Oscar’s health deteriorated to the point that the Doctors didn’t believe Oscar would survive the night. God knows how Stephen and Leona coped being stuck many thousands of miles from home with a bunch of strangers and having to watch their son slip away in front of their eyes. However Oscar showed that fighting Irish spirit and that Fearless determination and somehow pulled through. Unfortunately due to the medical complications that Oscar had developed he was unable to receive the specialist treatment he so desperately needed and had to return home where it was unclear what the next steps in Oscars treatment were and all that remained was a massive £250k medical bill and a wee boy that now had even more medical complications and battles ahead.
But as we all know Oscar had already proven what a fighter he was and amazingly his health did improve and even more amazingly during the early months of summer 2013 Stephen and Leona had announced that to the surprise of everyone that tests had shown that Oscar was cancer free.
Normal Life would mean that Oscar would be able to go back to playgroup again and the thoughts turned to planning Oscar’s step up to the big school in September. In May 2013 Oscar had the chance to spend time in his new school, meet his teachers and classmates, and even get fitted for his new uniform. This trip to school meant the world to Oscar and his extremely proud family.
The summer of 2013 and normal life involved a short holiday at Centerparks which the family absolutely loved, and then a short break in Scotland, where they were able to visit family and friends. There was also the Champions League qualifier against Cliftonville at Celtic Park where Oscar was the Celtic mascot.
Watching Oscar come out onto the pitch hand in hand with Captain Scott Brown was a moment that the thousands who attended will never forget. The moment that Oscar ran to hug Hoopy will be the lasting memory for hundreds of thousands if not millions of people across the world. Although I think that Stephen enjoyed his time just as much as Oscar and taking penalties into the Celtic end goal after the game gave him a smile almost as big as Oscar’s.
Sadly shortly after returning home from their time in Scotland Stephen and Leona knew that something was not quite right with Oscar’s health so back to hospital and their specialist they had to go. Their Doctor informed them that the cancer had returned; this was going to prove to be Oscar’s biggest battle of all.
Despite the earlier disappointment of having to postpone Oscar’s primary 1 start in September 2013, due to his chemotherapy and hospital treatment, he finally got his biggest wish when he was able to start school on the 7th January 2014. Leona says “If it was possible, Stephen and I wore even prouder smiles than this as we drove him to school on that first morning.”
In March 2014 Leona and Stephens worst fears were realised when scans revealed that the neuroblastoma had overrun Oscar’s wee body – devastating news. But this wonderfully dedicated and kind couple never gave up hope for Oscar’s sake and it’s obvious that Stephen and Leona’s ability to maintain a positive environment around Oscar contributed immensely to Oscar wonderful positivity.
On Thursday 8th May 2014 Oscar sadly lost his two and a half year battle with Cancer and passed away at the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in his Mum and Dad’s arms. The news broke with a message from the family saying “Our beautiful amazing and much loved Son Oscar James Knox gained his angel wings yesterday afternoon. Sleep tight little man xx #TeamOscarForever”. It seemed like the whole world was grieving with Stephen, Leona, Izzie and their entire family with literally thousands upon thousands of Facebook and Twitter messages being sent to the official Wee Oscar accounts.
The hundreds of ordinary people who came to honour and show their love and pay their respects to Oscar were joined by prominent politicians and sports personalities including, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Belfast boxers Carl Frampton and Paddy Barnes and award-winning restaurateur Michael Deane amongst others.
Hundreds of people lined the streets, some gave polite applause when Oscar passed, Police Officers saluted, people took off their hats and bowed and some held homemade banners. One of these banners read “You’ll Never Walk Alone RIP Oscar #TeamOscar Brave to the very end”. Little children many wearing football kits and tops of many teams including Celtic, Cliftonville and Rangers were seen; but football was irrelevant and rivalries were forgotten as everyone came to show their love for Oscar and their solidarity with Stephen, Leona and Izzie.
The funeral mass was a wonderful celebration of Oscar’s short life and proved to be a very fitting send off. Near the end of the service both Stephen and Leona said a few words and they both spoke with a dignity, compassion and bravery that is hard to comprehend. They are truly amazing people and wonderful parents. While people applauded Stephen and Leona’s courage and heartfelt words I suspect the congregated masses were also saying to them ‘thank you for letting us be part of your beautiful family’s and especially Oscar’s life’.
On the same day as Oscar’s funeral Celtic played Dundee Utd in the final game of the SPFL Premiership season; the day that Celtic would be presented with the League trophy; a day that would have been emotionally charged at the best of times however on this day it was even more emotional. The Celtic players all wore black armbands, before the game started a tribute was displayed on the big screens as they played “You’ll never walk alone” over the PA system. RIP Oscar Banners were displayed throughout the stadium showing their love and support for Oscar. One of the most poignant and appropriate was displayed by the Green Brigade that said “Heart of a Lion – Courage of a Champion – RIP Oscar”. On the 5th minute (Oscar’s age) the entire stadium got to their feet to applaud; including the Celtic management team and substitutes in the dugout in what was a genuine show of respect, love and acknowledgement of what a personality and amazing bhoy that Oscar was. After the applause turned to another chorus of “You’ll never walk alone”.
The final celebration of Oscars life was a service at Roselawn Crematorium the following day in South Belfast which was predominantly attended by family and close friends; however just like his funeral mass there were a few notable and instantly recognisable public figures there including Celtic’s Kris Commons and his partner Lisa Hague who have both been wonderful supporters of the Oscar Knox Appeal as well as Jordan O’Keefe the Britain’s Got talent finalist who wore his #TeamOscar wristband with pride throughout every round of the live TV shows which helped to raise massive awareness for Oscars plight.
Quite a few people have repeated Stephens words that “Oscar achieved more in his 5 and a half short years that most of us ever will in a lifetime” and how true these words are; some of this “big man for a wee mans” achievements include raising global awareness of neuroblastoma, increasing blood donations across the UK and Ireland, bringing diametrically opposed politicians together and being the catalyst for the first ever professional boxing event to be hosted in Belfast City Hall. He inspired people from many Countries across the world to go out and fundraise (which they did to the tune of just over £700,000 for the Oscar Knox Appeal) and even in death Oscar continues to inspire people to donate to worthwhile causes with over £36,000 raised within days for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice and Children’s Haematology Unit in his memory.
These are just some of the things that Oscar achieved, however without doubt Oscar’s greatest legacy is that he made us better people! You could not help but be inspired to be happier and smile a bit more than we normally would, to be more courageous and determined (given what Oscar was going through everything else paled into insignificance) and if nothing else just to be a better person I mean how could you not be inspired to be a better person?
WeeOscar4Life was set-up to help Oscar and his amazing family get through the tough time of raising money to help Oscar get the much needed treatment that in the end he was sadly unable to get despite the truly heroic efforts of Stephen and Leona. Oscar will forever be in the hearts and minds of many people around the World and we are certain that memorials in many shapes and forms will be created for Oscar. The WeeOscar4Life team are delighted to say that with the support of many CQNer’s we have been able to create our own lasting memorial for Oscar with the installation of a Paving Stone at Celtic Park. However the true purpose of WeeOscar4Life means ‘for life’ and our thoughts, prayers and best wishes are with our friends for life, Stephen, Leona and Izzie. Be assured that we will be here to walk with you on the next steps of your journey as friends.
It has been an honour and a privilege to have known Oscar and we are proud that you, Stephen and Leona, let us become a small part of your journey with Oscar and that we were able to share some of the highs and lows with you and your beautiful family.
Rest in Peace Champ, your smile and thumbs up will forever be treasured. Your bravery and inspirational fighting spirit an eternal legacy :’-)
To donate to the Oscar Knox Appeal use the following: http://www.justgiving.com/OscarAppeal
To donate to the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice use the following:
http://www.justgiving.com/remember/123577/Oscar-Knox
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I think Ronny will start with Commons…however for me I’d go with
——————–C.Gordon——————-
Matthews. Denayer. Van Dijk. Izzy
————Broony. Bitton —————–
—Forrest. Johansen. MckaySteven—
—————-Griffiths———————–
out of Zig n Zag, I think GMS has produced the most so far, that’s why he would get the nod ahead of Armstrong.
One for Ernie if he’s looking in:
“Ukip surged in seats with large concentrations of poorer, white working-class English nationalists, many of whom sympathised with Labour’s economic message but not the people delivering it.”
Per http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/10/election-2015-where-the-votes-switched-and-why
By no means a definitive analysis, but better than mine by some considerable distance.
THE BATTERED BUNNET
Or this one from the same site.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/09/ukip-tory-tories-election
any first goalscorer news yet?
Afternoon folks from a sweltering Costa del Sol.
Meeting my fellow Tim friend to watch in a bar with an ice cold beer.
My expectations of a dazzling performance are low. Dazzle needs an incentive to shine and that went when Dundee Utd beat the Dons last week.
It’s the nature of the game. Just as it is the nature of a panda that eats shoots and leaves, so too is it of football to lose hunger having already eaten ones fill.
” , ” the dropped comma. ;)
The day after Finland played NI the Daily Ranger had a story about Pukki looking away or words to that effect. My son a regular in Thompson’s here in Belfast spent a few hours drinking with the Finnish team the night before the story appeared and Pukki informed him that he was coming back to Celtic, loved it and had something to prove. Make of that what you will
Just a laugh.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J62gcFkBHMQ&sns=fb
The Finnish team are now known to drink copious amounts of Grey Goose vodka and Jack Daniels
Right , am off ti the Brazen, HH all.
erieann.
I like his attitude, good luck to the bhoy
Eireann –
Interesting.
During last pre-season and in the 2 CL qualifiers v Reykjavik, Pukki banged in a few goals and I thought he looked much sharper than in the previous season.
I was quite surprised therefore when he was loaned out.
Maybe he can still do a job for us, even as back up.
TD67,
I’m aff tae the fridge, crate of Grolsch cooling!! COYBIG.
Team
6 days to go ! In memory of @wee_oscar we will take part in 233 mile cycle to help Eileidh https://t.co/ymYtBGSCno #rideforeileidh plse RT
tonydonnelly67
13:07 on 10 May, 2015
Right , am off ti the Brazen, HH all.
>>>>>>>>
You’re off your (Brazen) head, with that Niemi joke…..hahahahahahaha
https://twitter.com/celticfc/status/597374315550646272
On the one road, bout 20 minutes outside Sheep City….
C’mon the Hoops…
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
https://twitter.com/e_milne27/status/597372105806716928
Ginger
Just a pinch of ginger is usually enough :o)
sandman
12:34 on 10 May, 2015
Neil McCann (#ratbastard) live from the Pittodrie boot room on SSN. Multi-coloured extravaganza of boots hanging behind him, looks like they caught him shopping in a gay cobblers emporium…
Made me laugh there….
https://twitter.com/independent/status/597362988950147072
This talk of Pukki coming back could spur Sydney Tim out of his absence from the blog.
He scored 6 in 20 with Brondby which is ok but not prolific and he has not scored for Finland since he was last with us.
He has not made a compelling case on loan and he seemed to lack confidence when he was hear. A bit of a gloomy Nordic – more Henrik Ibsen than Henrik Larsson
tom mclaughlin
13:11 on 10 May, 2015
I watched some of that match against NI and he looked a lot leaner and a lot quicker
eireann @ 12.59
I make of it that the DR is a comic of the highest order and is not fit & proper enough to be used as a substitute for toilet roll –
PukkiSchmooki CSC
No more talk of Pukki, he finished and I don’t care what age he is.
Rwe too true
Kenny shiels didn’t last long after his tiff with selective eyesight Dallas junior
Sent to the stands touchline bans the lot
The graffiti was on the wall for him after that
And on that note I feel a song coming on!
Jobo……….
If yer still in Laldi….
Would you mind picking me up a canoe, 2 sets of allen keys, an assortment of small herb canisters, one whole lobster, some Latvian “Rioja” and some chewing gum?
Cheers, ( it’ll save me the bother later!)
HH.
……….an’ a perra night-vision goggles as well……….
Ta
lennybhoy
13:17 on 10 May, 2015
Your wedding gift has been chilling in the fridge for over a month, it’s getting cracked open the day, give Ronny a Coatbrig roar from me, enjoy
eireann
Kenny Shiels for all his faults was the only manager in Scotland who came out publicly and condemned the attack on Neil Lennon and the treatment Neil received from certain groups
https://twitter.com/chrissy_cfc/status/597356505894100992
bankiebhoy1
13:23 on 10 May, 2015
Jobo……….
If yer still in Laldi….
Would you mind picking me up a canoe, 2 sets of allen keys, an assortment of small herb canisters, one whole lobster, some Latvian “Rioja” and some chewing gum?
Cheers, ( it’ll save me the bother later!)
——–
Just the essiantials then?
Celtic Football Club @celticfc 9s10 seconds ago
Celtic team to play Aberdeen: Gordon; Fisher, Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Bitton, Commons, Johansen, Armstrong; Griffiths
A special thanks to all the folks on CQN who had donated and or given encouragement. Many thanks Mouldy67
In memory of @wee_oscar we will take part in 233 mile cycle to help Eileidh https://t.co/ymYtBGSCno #rideforeileidh
Celtic team to play Aberdeen: Gordon; Fisher, Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Bitton, Commons, Johansen, Armstrong; Griffiths
Celtic team for today….
https://twitter.com/celticfc/status/597378212033880064
Celtic Football Club @celticfc 4s4 seconds ago
Subs: Zaluska, Matthews, Ambrose, Scepovic, Mackay-Steven, Rogic, Forrest.
Gordon; Fisher, Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Bitton, Commons, Johansen, Armstrong; Griffiths
Good to see Tom Rogic, if only on the bench
Delighted to see Fisher starting. Surprised to see Rogic on bench, can we assume Stokes is offski as he doesn’t make the bench or is he injured.