Martina Cox - With Hope in Your Heart: The Seán Cox Story

Gill Books
Hume Avenue
Park West
Dublin 12
www.gillbooks.ie

Gill Books is an imprint of M.H. Gill and Co.

Martina Cox 2020
978 07171 9010 2 (hardback)

978 07171 9011 9 (ebook)

Print origination by OK Graphic Design
Copy-edited by Susan McKeever
Proofread by Emma Dunne

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without written permission of the publishers.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Contents

FOREWORD

S en Cox. In one way, I wish that I had never heard this name. If I hadnt, it would mean that he had come to our match against A.S. Roma on the night of 24 April 2018, enjoyed a wonderful game and gone home safely to his family to tell them all the stories of an unforgettable occasion.

All of our other supporters who were at Anfield that night were able to do this. It is why we fall in love with football the passion, the drama, the joy, the pleasure. We live the moment and then we get to share the moment with others, especially during special times for whichever team we support.

Sen never got to do this and this is something that hurt the players and myself a great deal at the time. He is and always will be one of our own, and learning that he had become a victim of what I would describe as the ugly side of football had a big effect on everyone in the Liverpool family.

The way that family then pulled together, though, showed football and society at its best. I always say that football is the most important of the least important things, but this kind of solidarity takes it to a different level.

In this respect, I feel privileged to know the name Sen Cox. In his fight, in how his family dealt with a terrible situation and in the way people came together he represents everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club.

I also feel blessed to have been able to meet Sen and his family. Seeing him in person was something that I feared may never happen, so when it did the experience moved the players and myself more than you can imagine.

We have been fortunate to enjoy some special moments at the club recently, but seeing Sen at Anfield was definitely one of the high points for all of us. Just knowing he would be at the stadium was important for all of the team and we hope he will be able to return to Anfield in the future.

Having been fortunate enough to spend some time with Sen and his family, I can say without any doubt that this book is a love story. Their love and devotion has been clear from the very first day that I was told they had travelled to Liverpool from Ireland to be at his bedside.

I often get asked about leadership in football, but in real life I can think of no greater example of what a leader is than Sens wife, Martina. I cannot claim to know her well, but I have followed what she has done for her husband and her family and it has humbled me.

Like everyone else, I would give anything to change what happened to Sen, but at the same time I feel honoured to have encountered such a special individual and his incredible family.

He and they will never walk alone.

Jrgen Klopp
Liverpool, July 2020

PROLOGUE

I place my mobile phone back down on the kitchen island and stare at it. I feel nothing. Numb. Paralysed. I cant move. What did she just say? Sen has been injured. I repeat the four words, but they still make no sense to me. What did she mean? Sen has been injured. It was like shed been speaking a different language. I look back at my phone. Had I just imagined the call? Sen wasnt injured; I saw him this morning. He had sent me a text message a few hours ago.

Hes in an ambulance on his way to hospital. What had she been talking about? The words swirl around my brain. Sen is in Liverpool. Hes been there hundreds of times. He is at the match. Hes safe. Hes not injured. Hes not in an ambulance. I picture him standing at my side of the bed that morning. He kissed me goodbye and told me hed check in with me later. As I rolled over, he walked out the bedroom door with his little overnight bag on his back. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. Was this a nightmare?

Suddenly I am aware of the sound of the television. Its coming from the living room where Jack is eating his dinner. He has just come back from GAA training to watch the Liverpool match. The match his dad was at.

I go from feeling nothing to everything. I need to know more. Or do I? What if knowing is worse than not knowing? I look back at my phone, lying on the kitchen island like a weapon. I want to throw it against the wall. I want to watch it break into a hundred pieces and fall to the ground. I want it to never again tell me things I dont want to hear. I should have gone running this evening. Why didnt I go? I always went running on a Tuesday night. What had stopped me? I thought about my feet pounding the ground beneath me. The simple task of putting one foot in front of another. The joy of always moving forward. Slow and steady with the wind in my hair. My mind calmer with each stride until eventually theres nothing. Complete freedom. I should have gone running. I could have just kept running, away from all of this.

I stand up and start to pace. Up and down the kitchen. I had been thinking about Christmas all day: little red velvet dresses, Santa pyjamas for boys and girls, Rudolf babygrows. For most people Christmas is still eight months away, but in the retail world plans are in full swing.

What will I tell the kids? I wonder as Shauna walks into the kitchen. How do I explain something I dont understand myself? I do my best. I stay calm on the outside, but inside Im panicking. They cant process it either and join me in pacing up and down the kitchen as we wait for something to happen. We all agree it cant be true. There must have been a mistake. Some sort of breakdown in communication. Theyve got the wrong man. Its not Sen. My husband. Their dad. This news was destined for some other poor family but got lost along the way. This news doesnt belong to us. We clutch at straws. If Dad is injured, it cant be serious. He probably just needs a few stitches, says Jack. We agree.

Sens brother Peter arrives.We pump him for information, but nobody really knows whats happened. Emma! Wheres Emma? Our youngest is on her way home from Irish dancing. I make my way to the door to meet her. I must tell her not to worry, that everything is okay. I cry when I see her. Back in the kitchen its harder to pace. The house has started to fill up. Family, friends and neighbours. Everyone wants to help. No one knows what to say.

My mobile rings. I freeze. I should have smashed it, I think. My eyes fall on the screen and I recognise an English number. I grab the phone.

Hello, I say nervously.

Is this Martina Cox? asks the woman on the other end. I hold my breath as she tells me she is a nurse at Aintree University Hospital. Sen was attacked outside Anfield. I looked after him when he arrived here by ambulance, she tells me calmly.

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

Your husband has a bleed on the brain, Martina. Weve transferred him to a neurological hospital for surgery.

All I can feel is fear. My hands start to shake, and I concentrate hard on not dropping my phone. I push it to my ear to hear her better. I open my mouth again. I dont know what Im going to say until I say it.

Is he dead? I scream.