Ryan Reynolds' brilliant gesture to Wrexham player's wife after she was diagnosed with inoperable brain tumour
Ryan Reynolds reached out to offer a helping hand to a Wrexham AFC player after their wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Wrexham full back Anthony Forde joined the club last year and featured in a recent episode of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary showing on Disney+ where he opened up on how Reynolds helped him.
"It just didn't feel like it was real," the footballer said after his wife Laura was diagnosed with a brain tumour, news which soon reached Wrexham owners Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
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"The gaffer told the owners about the news and they reached out. Ryan helped get a second opinion.
"It's something that he doesn't have to do, he doesn't have to do that."
Forde had been given time out of the team by manager Phil Parkinson as his family was reacting to the devastating news, and the help offered by Reynolds was very welcome.
The second opinion which Reynolds was able to secure for Laura told her she was facing the 'best case scenario' for her situation, compared to the results of her first scan.
She had just given birth three days ago when she found that her left arm was causing her problems.
In an Instagram post she said she felt her co-ordination was 'off', and an initial MRI scan found a 'mass' as doctors told her she had an inoperable brain tumour which was not curable and would likely shorten her life expectancy.
After Reynolds got a second opinion for the wife of the Wrexham footballer and she underwent a biopsy she was told that the tumour was benign, although still inoperable.
Laura had said on social media that she was 'relieved' that there had not been a growth to the tumour, but revealed that a screw had been left in her head following her biopsy.
Her husband Forde's return to the Wrexham side is the focus of one of the recent episodes of Welcome to Wrexham, with Reynolds seen in the episode giving Forde and Laura a big hug.
Forde would go on to score in a win for Wrexham upon his return to the squad, with Laura watching from the stands.
Viewers of Welcome to Wrexham praised the club's 'marvellous owners' for arranging a second opinion for Laura.
They also said that the documentary was 'heart breaking then heart warming stuff', while another simply said: "We all love Anthony Forde."
Topics: Ryan Reynolds, Wrexham FC, Sport, Health, Disney Plus
Joe Harker