There’s Roar supporters, and then there’s the Rashleigh family.
Committed Brisbane Roar supporters, the Rashleigh family drive down from Gladstone each home game to attend home games and get behind Brisbane Roar.
Justin Rashleigh, along with his 19-year-old son Conner, are Roar Members who are so committed to showing up on game days, that they drive five hours, sometimes it can be up to ten with roadworks, each way to come out and show their support.
Conner has a unique chromosome deletion of part of his 7th chromosome which has led to him having epilepsy, cerebral palsy, cleft lip and palette, global mental and physical delays, scoliosis and multiple hormone issues.
Conner has been in hospital this past week and to send some positivity their way, Brisbane Roar veteran Scott Neville took some time to send the Rashleigh Family a few words.
Conner’s father Justin Rashleigh says that making the trip each game day is all about making memories for his children.
“I alternate between Conner down and my other young fella, and for me, it’s just making memories for them,” Justin said.
While Conner cannot speak at the moment, Justin could gather just from his son’s facial expressions that Scott Neville’s video meant the world to him.
“Whenever he sees Scotty at the games, he’ll get the biggest smile on his face and so he got that big smile going again,” he said.
Brisbane Roar’s number one super fan, “Richard Roar” also took Justin with him for the pitch-side experience that the club offered for the Suncorp match against Sydney FC on Monday night.
“Conner was still in hospital, he got moved from ICU to the ward when I was down at the game. So, for me, it was a bit like ‘should I be here or shouldn’t I’,” Justin said.
“But it was good to get away from the hospital for a few hours because I had been in a hospital space since Wednesday morning.”
If all goes well with final tests, Conner is looking to be released either tonight or tomorrow morning.
The club wishes Conner and his family all the best in his recovery and looks forward to seeing Rashleigh’s at our home games again at Suncorp Stadium, this coming season.
If you’re a Brisbane Roar member, we urge you to send your best wishes to the Rashleigh family at this time.
