Son’s serious illness reminds Lennon of what truly matters
HAVING kept St Mirren in the top flight and taken them to their first major silverware since 1987, Danny Lennon was distraught when the club’s directors decided not to renew his contract in May.
Like anyone else who has been made redundant, he experienced a variety of emotions when given the news: anger, disappointment and fears for the future.
However, although he did not realise it at the time, he was about to discover what real fear is when he took his wife, Yvonne, and sons Keilan and Kruz to Mexico for a much-needed holiday.
What should have been a restful break in Paradise turned into a living nightmare as Keilan, 15, was rushed to hospital.
What, at first, appeared to be a virus developed complications, with the result that Keilan is still being treated for septic arthritis, a disease caused by germs infecting the joints, damaging the cartilage and the bones.
Three months on, he visits the hospital almost daily as doctors work to rid him of the condition. His father has been with him all the way and admits that being unemployed has helped.
‘Bill Shankly came out with the line about football being more important than life or death and, when you’re a manager, there are times when it can feel like that,’ said the 46-year-old.
‘However, when something like this happens, you realise that’s rubbish. Nothing means more than the health of your family and that has been brought home to me this summer.
‘We went to Cancun the week after my contract with St Mirren ended. I was looking forward to spending some quality time with my wife, Yvonne, Keilan and his brother, Kruz. Unfortunately, it turned into something that was almost a tragedy.
‘Four days in, Keilan developed a really high temperature. He also had diarrhoea and was passing blood. The hotel doctor injected him with antibiotics for three days and he seemed to pick up. But on the fourth day, he woke up and his left knee and right wrist had swollen up like balloons.
‘An ambulance was called and he was taken straight to hospital and kept in for the next week.
‘We called his doctor Mourinho because he was a ringer for the Chelsea manager, but they were terrific with Keilan.
‘They aspirated his knee and it tested positive for bacteria. They put him on an intravenous drip.
‘He was seriously ill and it gave us all a real fright. It was touch and go whether they would allow him to fly home but, the night before we were due to come back, he was granted a flight certificate.’
Even then, Yvonne and Kruz had to leave earlier because Keilan needed three seats to himself on the 10-hour journey home, which meant he and his dad had to wait for a flight which was not fully booked.
‘As soon as we touched down, we went to St John’s Hospital in Livingston without dropping our bags off,’ said Lennon.
‘They transferred Keilan to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he had operations on his knee and his wrist.
‘He spent 14 days there, with his temperature still spiking. Then he saw a specialist in infectious diseases and rheumatology at the Western Infirmary.
‘More recently, he’s been visiting the Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. They give him steroids, while I administer injections several times a week.
‘He was on crutches until a few days ago but he’s now finally able to walk without them, so we’re hoping that is a light at the end of the tunnel.
‘We’ve been going to hospitals almost every day but we’re seeing a consultant on Thursday and we’re hoping he will reduce the amount of medication Keilan has to take. Right now, though, there is no time scale for getting back to normal.
‘He was an active lad, who played football for his school team, St Kentigern’s Academy in Blackburn (West Lothian). We visited the school on Thursday as this is the year he takes his Highers and they couldn’t have been more helpful.’
Lennon has put his career on the back burner as he helps his son return to full health.
‘It’s been a blessing I haven’t been working,’ he said. ‘If I was still in a job, my work would have suffered due to all the time I’ve had to spend with Keilan.
‘It’s every parent’s nightmare that something will happen to their kids and, when something does, then nothing else matters.
‘Keilan has lost a lot of weight and muscle but we’ll get him back to where he should be. Yvonne and I are proud of him for the way he’s battled through this.
‘Once that happens, I’ll start looking for my next project.’