An inspirational young Evertonian fulfilled a promise to her Blues hero by walking out with him onto the Goodison Park pitch.
Nine-year-old Emilia, who suffers from cerebral palsy, met her favourite player Blues striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin back in August just days before she underwent a major five-hour operation on both legs.
Emilia, a keen dancer, promised her hero that one day he would get the chance to see her walk and when the Everton first-team squad visited Alder Hey earlier this month for the annual Christmas visit, they met again.
Emilia surprised Calvert-Lewin by greeting him and the team on their arrival to show the huge improvement she has made in just four months thanks to hours of intensive physiotherapy.
The Blues striker then broke the news that she would be walking onto the pitch at Goodison with him for the Everton v Arsenal match last weekend.
Emilia said: “He’s just really nice and he's got a nice heart.
"I really enjoyed seeing him. He was trying to explain it [about being a mascot] to me but he didn't explain it very well!
"But then mum explained it a little bit better what I'm actually going to do.”
On Saturday, Emilia fulfilled her promise.
She met her hero Dominic pitch-side before the game and got to watch the team warm up before walking out proudly onto the pitch as a mascot alongside Calvert-Lewin, before having her photograph taken in the centre circle.
Calvert-Lewin shared his admiration for Emilia’s courage and bravery after seeing her walk at Alder Hey saying: “It will be a great day for me to see her at Goodison, walking out with the team.
"I knew she was brave anyway but to see her today and with a big smile on her face, it's what we come here for. She’s an incredible little girl.”
Emilia’s mum, Michelle said: "He [Calvert-Lewin] said when he first met Emilia in hospital, ‘We'll get you walking out on that pitch’ and she's never let that go. She’s been so determined.”
