Post by jenelle on Jun 22, 2006 17:16:48 GMT
Ashley Cole remembers only too well how intimidating it was for him as a schoolboy to visit Highbury, but he also recalls vividly how one star player of the time helped him to settle in at the club.
As young teenager Cole lay nervously on the treatment table waiting for club physiotherapist Gary Lewin to treat him, the England winger on the bed next to him could sense that the kid from Tower Hamlets was ill at ease. So he started a conversation - asking about Cole's injury, his ambitions, his life generally - anything to make him feel more relaxed.
The player who showed such kindness became a role model to Cole. He was David Rocastle.
Cole recalled: "That meant so much to me. He took time out to make me feel at home, to open up a bit. I have never forgotten that."
Tragically, Rocastle died in March 2001 at the age of 33 from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer of the body's lymphatic system. Cole took the news badly and he has made a remarkable gesture to help raise funds to help those struck down with the disease.
The Marc Fisher Trust was established in 1994 in memory of a 28-year-old who, like Rocastle, died in the prime of his life. The sole purpose of the Trust is to raise money to finance research into new and more successful treatment for Hodgkins Disease and Non Hodgkins Lymphoma by creating a vaccine to prevent a recurrence after treatment.
The Trust needs more than £200,000 to start work on a vaccine with an initial test of just 10 patients. When Cole was made aware of the situation he decided to act - by donating his car.
The car is a beauty - a black Audi TT sports model with personalised number plates (C3ASH) and 16,396 miles on the clock. Cole has been the one owner.
An auction for it will be held at The Marc Fisher Trust May Ball on 10 May at the Inter-Continental Hotel, Hyde Park - and an offer of £20,000 has started the bidding.
Cole explained: "I recently bought a new car and knowing first hand the good work the club's community department undertakes, I decided to give my old car to the Arsenal Charitable Trust which distributes money to worthwhile causes and charities. When it was proposed that the car should be auctioned for the Marc Fisher Trust, I immediately agreed.
"David Rocastle became my hero when I first joined Arsenal. He was such a warm, approachable and friendly person and when he died it was a terrible shock to me. I just hope the money raised from the items donated will go a long way towards funding the production of the vaccine.
"David was always the sort to take time to talk to you, to see how you were. It was all so sudden. One day at training, I heard he wasn't well. Then he had died. It hurt me a lot. This is my way of trying to help other people who may be affected by the disease."
Cole, who hopes to overcome an ankle injury to play in Arsenal's crunch title game at Bolton on Saturday, is aware that Lymphoma is the fastest growing cancer in this country among males between the ages of 15 and 38. There are approximately 8000 new cases every year and 5000 deaths. The Trust has been funding research at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead where Marc Fisher was treated. Carol Fisher, Trustee of the Marc Fisher Trust and mother of Marc, said: "We are touched by Arsenal's support of the Trust and we are overwhelmed by Ashley Cole's donation in particular."
As young teenager Cole lay nervously on the treatment table waiting for club physiotherapist Gary Lewin to treat him, the England winger on the bed next to him could sense that the kid from Tower Hamlets was ill at ease. So he started a conversation - asking about Cole's injury, his ambitions, his life generally - anything to make him feel more relaxed.
The player who showed such kindness became a role model to Cole. He was David Rocastle.
Cole recalled: "That meant so much to me. He took time out to make me feel at home, to open up a bit. I have never forgotten that."
Tragically, Rocastle died in March 2001 at the age of 33 from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer of the body's lymphatic system. Cole took the news badly and he has made a remarkable gesture to help raise funds to help those struck down with the disease.
The Marc Fisher Trust was established in 1994 in memory of a 28-year-old who, like Rocastle, died in the prime of his life. The sole purpose of the Trust is to raise money to finance research into new and more successful treatment for Hodgkins Disease and Non Hodgkins Lymphoma by creating a vaccine to prevent a recurrence after treatment.
The Trust needs more than £200,000 to start work on a vaccine with an initial test of just 10 patients. When Cole was made aware of the situation he decided to act - by donating his car.
The car is a beauty - a black Audi TT sports model with personalised number plates (C3ASH) and 16,396 miles on the clock. Cole has been the one owner.
An auction for it will be held at The Marc Fisher Trust May Ball on 10 May at the Inter-Continental Hotel, Hyde Park - and an offer of £20,000 has started the bidding.
Cole explained: "I recently bought a new car and knowing first hand the good work the club's community department undertakes, I decided to give my old car to the Arsenal Charitable Trust which distributes money to worthwhile causes and charities. When it was proposed that the car should be auctioned for the Marc Fisher Trust, I immediately agreed.
"David Rocastle became my hero when I first joined Arsenal. He was such a warm, approachable and friendly person and when he died it was a terrible shock to me. I just hope the money raised from the items donated will go a long way towards funding the production of the vaccine.
"David was always the sort to take time to talk to you, to see how you were. It was all so sudden. One day at training, I heard he wasn't well. Then he had died. It hurt me a lot. This is my way of trying to help other people who may be affected by the disease."
Cole, who hopes to overcome an ankle injury to play in Arsenal's crunch title game at Bolton on Saturday, is aware that Lymphoma is the fastest growing cancer in this country among males between the ages of 15 and 38. There are approximately 8000 new cases every year and 5000 deaths. The Trust has been funding research at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead where Marc Fisher was treated. Carol Fisher, Trustee of the Marc Fisher Trust and mother of Marc, said: "We are touched by Arsenal's support of the Trust and we are overwhelmed by Ashley Cole's donation in particular."