Everybody at the Midlands Hurricanes would like to express our sadness and offer our best wishes to former player Errol Carter following his announcement that he has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and is receiving palliative care.
Errol, 30, was originally a product of the London Broncos academy and played 27 times for the Canes (when we were Coventry Bears) between 2018 and 2019, scoring five tries and becoming a fan favourite for his positive attitude and engagement with fans regardless of whether we won, lost or drew.
He also played for a number of "expansion" clubs over 8 seasons, including Oxford, Gloucestershire All Golds, South Wales Scorpions, London Skolars and most recently Cornwall.
He also earned international honours, playing for England Students and was a Turkish dual-code international, playing 8 times for the country's league side, including the 2018 Emerging Nations Championship whilst at the Bears.
The last couple of years have been nothing short of a battle for Errol. Whilst making his international Union debut for Turkey he collapsed and was eventually diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) - a rare spinal disorder which causes paralysis and affects just 6 in 1 million people.
Errol battled CES bravely, undergoing two complicated operations and spending several months in hospital, after which he has remained in a wheelchair. However, Errol unfortunately suffered further health complications regarding his vision, with further scans uncovering the brain tumour last year.
Former Canes fullback Phil Cowburn is running in both the Manchester Marathon in April and Newcastle's Great North Run in September to raise money for Errol's care costs and more widely into brain tumour research that can help people in Errol's situation.
We're sure we speak for everyone when we say that Phil's efforts in support of Errol are nothing short of amazing and would encourage everyone to support Phil as he takes on both challenges this year.
A link to Errol's GoFundMe page can be found below. We would encourage any fans who can donate to do so.
We're all behind you, Errol.
gofundme.com/f/errol-cartersโฆ