connor elliot
living his footballing dream
It’s the day after your 15th birthday. What might you have planned? A trip to the cinema with your pals? Tenpin bowling? A family tea to finish off your birthday cake? Fifteen-year-old Connor Elliot didn’t have the luxury of choice. The morning after his birthday he travelled to Glasgow to undergo surgery to amputate his leg.
Connor, a pupil at Queen Margaret Academy, first noticed pain in his lower right leg in May 2022. He put the pain down to a sports injury – he played football at school as well as captaining Cambusdoon FC – and after a visit to his GP, treated it with the prescribed Ibuprofen gel.
The pain persisted and during subsequent visits to the local hospital he was misdiagnosed with growing pains and shin splints.
In August, not long after the new school term had started, he phoned his mum to say he was in agony and she took him straight to A&E.
“They said it wasn’t an emergency,” Pauline Elliot recalls, “so we were basically told to leave. I was so angry at this point… I went back to our GP and didn’t leave until I’d got an appointment.
During an examination, Connor’s doctor discovered a lump and sent him for an X-ray.
“The doctor was amazing that day, and we got a phone call later to say they’d found something that looked like a deep bone infection. We were referred to orthopaedics, but it was a non-urgent referral which took 4 or 5 weeks.”
Connor then underwent an MRI scan, the outcome of which prompted a deep needle biopsy.
“They did the biopsy at Glasgow but there was no puss. That set alarms bells ringing with the orthopaedic surgeon. It was sent to pathology, but they were scratching their heads over it, so it went to Stanmore in London. We got told on 9th November that it was a Chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer.”
It may have been three years ago, but I can still hear the emotion in Pauline’s voice. Understandably so. It was the worse news imaginable.
A full body scan followed and a week later Connor learned that the cancer was contained in his leg and that, thankfully, it had not spread.
He was then given three options: limb salvage surgery (resulting in a higher risk of tumour recurrence), reconstruction (following which he was unlikely to play football again), or amputation.
He opted for above the knee amputation, a decision he made after lengthy consultations with his surgeon and following discussions about amputee football.
“The surgeon, Mr Duncan, had told him about amputee football and referred him to WestMARC to have a conversation with the physios and prosthetics specialists.”
WestMARC is the West of Scotland Mobility and Rehabilitation Centre and would go on to play a vital role in Connor’s post-op recovery.
“So he had his birthday on 29th November and he was up at Glasgow the next day, St Andrew’s Day. The clouds had formed a big Saltire in the sky, it was amazing. And his teachers were sending him good luck messages with pictures of this Saltire. It was very emotional.”
He was discharged just four days later and was playing amputee football within four weeks. Connor is obviously a very determined young man.
“He’s phenomenal,” says Pauline.
With the support of Harris, another young amputee, his specialists at WestMARC, and his new prosthetic limb, Connor continued playing football and was later signed by Cork City FC.
“There aren’t many amputee teams in Scotland compared to England. There’s no league here, so he goes over to Ireland to play. He won the league with Cork City and got to play in the Champion’s League in Italy.”
Along with his pal, Harris, he then went on loan to Portsmouth FC and continues to fly south to play in the English Amputee FA IKO Premier League.
“He’s also represented his country. He’s played in the Euros and has scored for Scotland against Belgium.”
Needless to say, Pauline is exceptionally proud of her son. He handled his situation with a great deal of maturity, determined to overcome the physical and psychological challenges and to fulfil his footballing dream.
“He got his new leg on 20th December 2022 just in time for Christmas, and he learned to walk the same day. That day, we also got the results back to say that all the cancer was gone.”
In the three weeks prior to having his prosthetic leg fitted, Connor remained positive and continued to attend Ayr United matches with his pals.
“They’ve been very supportive,” says Pauline, aware how important friendship is during times of adversity. “And we can’t thank WestMARC enough. By the time his leg had healed, his new leg was ready. They were fantastic. When he went to get his prosthetic leg, he hopped in and walked out. It was surreal.”
Cambusdoon FC were equally supportive and managed to raise over £3,000 for Young Lives vs Cancer.
Now, having faced and overcome what will hopefully be the most difficult time of his life, Connor continues to focus on the future.
“He played in Romania in October in the Nations League and now he’d love to get Scotland to the World Cup,” says Pauline. “He’s experienced the Euros, so he’d love to play in the World Cup.”
His ambitions, it seems, are just as great as his courage, not only in relation to his footballing goals, but also his career.
“I think he’s going down the route of a sports analyst in a team environment. Ayr United actually offered for him to go with the first team to record the match, and for their sports analyst to show him what to do.”
What a fabulous opportunity, and no more than he deserves.
Connor celebrates his 18th birthday on 29th November. Maybe he’ll go to the cinema with his pals or try his luck at tenpin bowling… or maybe enjoy a family tea to finish off his birthday cake.
