Andrew’s story - A shared love of football and friendship

With some extra time on his hands, Andrew was looking for a way to use it that felt positive and meaningful.

In October 2022, he had become seriously ill with sepsis and lost his leg. Before that, he had worked as a painter and decorator since leaving school. Finding paid work has been difficult since, which is one of the reasons volunteering felt like a good fit.

He joined the SeeAbility family in May 2025. From day one, the support team at Waterside House made him feel welcome, which helped him settle in quickly. It did not take long for people to spot the Wycombe Wanderers flags in his car.

Andrew is a befriender and enjoys spending time with the people we support and getting to know what they like and what matters to them. For him, it’s all about good conversation, shared interests, and plenty of laughs along the way.

That is when his friendship with Scott began.

Scott also supports Wycombe Wanderers, so many of their conversations are around the ups and downs of the season.

Scott goes to home games with his support team, even though he has no functional vision, he follows it by listening to the sound of the crowd. Scott often knows exactly how the game is going just from the noise, sometimes before anyone else does, but Andrew is able to fill in the gaps to give him the full picture. They are both wheelchair users and season ticket holders, and usually sit together at home matches.

Charlie, deputy manager has noticed a real difference in Scott since Andrew started volunteering.

“I will never forget walking down the stairs that go past Scott's back garden, and the howling laughter coming from the pair of them. Scott being able to connect with another person on the same level has made such a difference to his life.”

And equally, volunteering has had a big impact on Andrew. No matter what difficulties he might face outside SeeAbility he always leaves his volunteering role smiling and feeling lighter. He often jokes that he gets just as much out of volunteering as the people he visits, if not more.