Everyone loved my brave boy
Heartbroken dad’s emotional tribute as tragic teen loses cancer battle
Tributes have flooded in for a tragic Blantyre teenager who died this week following a battle with cancer.
Darren Valentine passed away on Tuesday (September 4) morning. The 16-year-old was diagnosed with terminal sarcoma, a cancer of the spine, in March last year, having previously gone into remission after completing rounds of radiotherapy back in 2012.
However, when the cancer returned, doctors broke the news that Darren had just months to live and prescribed chemotherapy to help prolong his life.
As reported in the Advertiser, the Blantyre community helped fund a trip to Lourdes for the St John Ogilvie High School pupil earlier this year.
Celtic fan Darren had also been treated to a trip to Paradise to meet manager Brendan Rodgers and his heroes as he battled the condition, courtesy of the Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker Foundation.
His heartbroken dad, Craig Reid, said: “Darren was just such a really nice boy, and everyone loved him.”
Blantyre lad Darren Valentine was a typical teenager who had countless friends and a passion for football.
The 16-year-old’s family paid tribute to the St John Ogilvie High School pupil following his sad passing on Tuesday (September 4).
Darren had been battling sarcoma, a cancer of the spine, since March last year. He had previously gone into remission from the disease after completing radiotherapy in 2012.
His distraught family were told last month that their “ever smiling” boy had just “weeks or days to live”.
As reported in the Advertiser, the Blantyre community rallied round in support of Darren and his family by helping to fund a trip to Lourdes in March. With support from local councillor Mo Razzaq, who owns the town’s Family Shopper store on Main Street, a Justgiving page was set up with the initial target of £2000 – it raised £2660 in just 24 hours.
A massive Celtic fan, Darren was treated to a trip to Celtic Park to meet his heroes as he battled his condition at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
The Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker Foundation lined up a meet-and-greet for Darren with manager Brendan Rodgers and the first team players after a match last summer.
They also took Darren along to meet Conor Mcgregor as the UFC lightweight champion hosted ‘An Evening With...’ event at Glasgow’s Armadillo.
Darren is survived by mum Kendal Valentine, sister Kasey (11), dad Craig Reid and grandparents Arthur and Elaine Valentine.
Heartbroken dad Craig said: “Darren was a massive, massive Celtic fan and loved going on the trip to Celtic Park.
“His favourite player was always whoever the best striker was, over the years it went from Henrik Larsson to Gary Hooper, then Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele.
“Darren also played for Coatshill as a right-back. Really, he could play all over the park, he just loved football.
“He was just such a really nice boy – and everyone loved him.
“As he went to St John Ogilvie, Darren had loads of pals from Blantyre and Hamilton.
“He was a popular lad with lots of friends, and the number of tributes paid to him on Facebook, with comments and likes on posts, is just phenomenal.”
Grandfather Arthur Valentine said: “Darren was some boy. He fought this for 18 months only for it to come back.
“He went to Lourdes to try and get better, but four weeks ago he was told he only had weeks or days to live. We are all absolutely devastated.”
Darren’s aunt, Gail Reid, also paid tribute to him. She said: “Darren was so special from the minute he was born. We as a family adored him.
“He was the heart of our family and we had amazing times with him.
“Myself and my girls Laurie and Kayla will treasure every moment we had together.
“We lost our beloved mum only seven weeks ago. Darren was her sunshine. He was always smiling and I cannot put into words the love between all of us.
“Darren’s passing has left a hole in our hearts. But we believe he is safe and resting now with his gran. We couldn’t be more proud of our ever smiling amazing brave boy.”
His uncle, Gary Valentine, said: “Darren was a very loved boy by everyone, he was like a wee celebrity.”
Les Hoey MBE, of the Dreammaker Foundation, said:” Darren was a great boy We are all distraught. “
Darren’s funeral will take place at St Joseph’s Church in Blantyre on Tuesday at 10am.