Swansea's Jamie Paterson reveals the heartwarming reason behind arm's length tattoos
JAMIE PATERSON will kiss both arms in memory of his late grandmother this weekend as Swansea take to the field against Plymouth.
The 32-year-old striker has never forgotten the love he received from Ivy as a child – and has a number of touching tattoos in tribute.
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One is of a young Paterson with his grandmother, her Yorkshire Terrier Penny, grandfather Ron and father Stuart, sitting on a sofa – taken from an old family photo.
Another is a beautiful silhouette of the Swansea star as a small child, holding hands with his grandmother – and her name, Ivy.
And movingly, he has a phrase tattooed that reads: “I have an angel in heaven watching over me – RIP Nan.”
She died after suffering from cancer around the time Paterson entered high school, but the bond they formed will never be broken.
He told SunSport: “I always kiss my tattoos before the game and again when I score. It makes me feel good and they bring me so much comfort.
“It may sound crazy, but I talk to my grandma all the time. A few weeks ago, during the match against Southampton, it would even have been her birthday. I said to her, 'I'm going to score for your birthday today' and that's exactly what happened!
“Although we lost 3-1, it was a nice gift for her. Things like that always happen, making me believe she's with me.
Paterson grew up in Coventry and lived with his paternal grandparents for part of his childhood, from the age of five to about eleven.
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He said: “I went to a primary school next to my grandparents because the schools near my house weren't great, so I went to live with them. I was with my grandmother almost 24/7 until she got sick – as well as my aunt and cousins.
“We did the usual things, like going to the park or my grandmother coming to my football games.
“There was also a park near her house where I used to play football. I remember getting goalposts one Christmas and always causing bloodshed around the local estate.
Paterson fondly remembers how selfless his grandmother was.
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And while suffering from cancer, she even cared for his sick grandfather.
He said: “Nan would do anything for me. She had no money, so she didn't shower me with gifts or materialistic things – it was her love and care – that was huge for me.
'They didn't have a car. I'm not sure if they had even been on holiday abroad. But if they were alive today, I would make sure they were sitting on a beach in Barbados!
“My grandfather had stomach problems and had to have half his liver removed – and yet she did everything for him, even though, as I later discovered, she herself was suffering from cancer!
“She had great manners and was popular in her neighborhood. They still speak fondly of her.
“Everyone came over for a cup of tea. Back then we didn't have the internet like we do today and people met and talked to each other instead of on phones or social media!”
Paterson was too young to understand and know about the disease when his grandmother was first diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery.
But he does remember that her health deteriorated when the cancer returned a second time.
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He said: “I was too young to understand the first time and her breast surgery was hidden from me.
“But unfortunately it came back and at that stage I noticed her health was deteriorating.
“You could tell she was losing weight and wasn't as active. She used to walk with me all the way up the hill to the school gate, but towards the end she would wait at the bottom while I walked half a kilometer up.
“Now I realize how ill she must have been at that stage.”
After all these years, Paterson still feels emotional when he recalls his grandmother's heartbreaking final days.
He said, “I wanted to walk to my grandmother's, but my mother's friend came to school and said, 'You're coming with me today.' At that moment I knew something was wrong and she told me that my grandmother was sick and had gone to the hospital.
Swans raise money for a cancer charity
TODAY's home match against Plymouth will focus on raising awareness and fundraising for national cancer charity Maggie's.
It is part of the season-long 'Tackling Cancer Together' campaign, which covers all facets of the disease's journey, including diagnosis, the mental health impact and the financial challenges that can arise.
The Swansea branch alone needs £750,000 a year to operate.
And Paterson said: “It's huge for people who are sick and their families and friends – even if they have lost a loved one.
'My parents separated in the aftermath of my grandmother's death and if Maggie had been there they might have stayed together with their support. Who knows?
“But it is vital that this amazing charity can continue to do its work and this is something I am passionate about.”
Swansea will play in a special one-off home kit dedicated to charity, with match-worn shirts being auctioned to raise money.
Each warm-up shirt features the names of someone from the Swansea City family who has had cancer or has died.
Club legends Alan Curtis and Kev Johns, who both survived, and the late former player Kevin Austin, are among those honoured.
“I remember visiting my parents and she was in bed, awake but not too much.
“And then I remember a few times when I was visiting alone and just holding her hand, which was freezing. She slowly deteriorated to the point where she wasn't really conscious, she was just breathing heavily. That was the hardest part share for her.me.
“When we got the news that she had passed away, I had never seen my father cry so much. He was a hard man who never got upset, but was in pieces. I cried then too. I can't describe the feeling, but it was something I've never experienced before or since.
“In six months we lost both my grandmother and my grandfather. The domino effect of all that was terrible.
“My father went to the pub every night, which he never did before, and eventually my parents split up.
“It was a difficult time – and going to school actually turned out to be liberating for me. It was a happy place.”
But Paterson has something great to hold on to. Not only that he had a mutually loving relationship with his grandmother, but that she foretold his future shortly before his death.
He said: “She said days before she died that I would make it as a professional footballer.”
And he did that too. The forward has gone on to play for Walsall, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City, but has also been loaned out to Huddersfield and Derby, while this is his third season with the Swans.
Like one of his tattoos, he says, “She's still watching over me and I think she's very proud.”