Tommy Spurr says emotional Doncaster Rovers reception for cancer-stricken son Rio ‘meant the world’

His emotional return to the club on Saturday with his three-year-old son Rio, who has stage 4 cancer, gave him and his family a memory that will last a lifetime.

Rio was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer in April that has spread to his lungs. He has since began intensive courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The lives of Tommy, his wife Chloe and their youngest son Rudy, two, have been turned upside down while the family does everything in its power to help save Rio’s life.

Tommy and Chloe are trying to raise £200,000 to pay for potential further treatment for their eldest son, who is undergoing the strongest-possible chemotherapy the NHS can give him.

"It’s difficult for us as parents not knowing the outcome, not knowing how he’s going to do and whether he’s going to come through this,” said Tommy, now 35.

“That’s our reality every day. It’s heartbreaking and painful to think that.

"We just want to be in a position where if this treatment doesn’t work we can look at options.”

Saturday’s trip to the Eco-Power Stadium provided some respite from the family’s suffering.

Tommy said: “It was very, very overwhelming in the best sort of way, totally unexpected.

"As we started walking around the pitch to get that sort of reaction for Rio was unbelievable. It just blew me and my wife away.

"We knew we had a lot of support but to see everyone stood up cheering and shouting Rio’s name was unbelievable, it meant the world to us.

”He loved it as well. He couldn’t quite understand why they were doing it, he’s a little superstar.”

Rio took part in a kickabout with Doncaster’s substitutes before running through on goal and finding the back of the net to the delight of his new teammates and the Rovers faithful.

He has now scored more goals at the Eco-Power Stadium than his dad, who was visibly emotional as he was interviewed pitch side and presented with his heritage shirt from the club and another for Rio.

"The Donny lads were unbelievable with him at half time,” said Tommy.

"They didn’t need to do that and it made him feel on top of the world.

"It took him a long time to go to sleep that night, I think he was buzzing.

"The whole day created a memory that will live with us forever.

"We don’t know where this journey will go. To have a special memory like that, it means the world to us.”

Rio has now switched his attention from his favourite film Sing and impersonating Johnny to football.

"Since Saturday he’s been telling me he’s a footballer and he keeps wanting to wear the shirt the club gave him with his name on the back,” added Tommy, who has given up his teaching job to keep up with Rio’s care demands.

"At a drop of a hat he could be back in hospital.

"It’s just been impossible. Our focus has to be on making sure our two little boys are happy and well – as well as they can be.

"It’s affected our youngest Rudy, having spent a lot of time in hospital.”

Despite everything, brave Rio continues to have a smile on his face.

“That’s the horrible thing about everything we are going through,” said Tommy.

"In himself he’s well at the moment but then all of of a sudden, like a couple of weeks ago, he seemed OK but his blood pallets were dangerously low.

"We only noticed because he came out in a little bit of bruising. It could have been really serious. He had to go into hospital and have a blood transfusion.

"Things can just turn at the tip of a hat. We take each day as it comes and on days like Saturday where he’s feeling well we try and embrace that.”

Fundraising efforts have so far raised more than £70,000 and include donations from a host of Tommy’s former teammates.

Next Sunday a team of ex-pro’s – including Tommy and several other members of the 2012/13 promotion-winning side – will take on a celebrities XI at the Eco-Power Stadium to raise money for Rio.

Tommy, who lives in Blackburn and counts another member of that year’s side, Chris Brown, among his good friends, said: "The second year at Doncaster gave me the best moment of my career – that game at Brentford.

"After everything that had gone on the previous year, to go and do what we did was unbelievable.

"It was my favourite season and favourite set of lads I played with.

"For the game on the thirteenth it was hard to pick a few I thought would play. I could have asked any of them.

“I can’t move, I have got no hips, but I will try.

"People are going to have a good day and it’s all in aid of trying to give a little boy a chance.”

The Sellebrity Soccer match will feature the likes of Brown, James Coppinger, Rob Jones, Billy Paynter and David Cotterill along with the club’s current academy coaches Frank Sinclair and Martin Woods, plus former manager Dean Saunders.

Celebrities set to feature in the game include: Lewis Reeves (Unforgotten), Tom Zanetti (DJ), Sharkey (YouTube), Dan Osborne (The Only Way is Essex), Jake Cornish (Love Island), Man Like Haks (comedian), Ashley Taylor Dawson (Hollyoaks), Dean Gaffney (Eastenders), Flintz (Britain’s Got Talent), Dean Edwards (TV chef), Matt Lapinskas (Eastenders), Warren Phiilips (Survival of the Fittest) and Chet Sket (Ex on the Beach).

The match starts at 2pm and tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £7 concessions. You can buy them HERE.

You can donate to Rio’s fundraiser HERE.