Darts superfan Jackson Waddell had a day to remember when he visited Mission HQ earlier this week.
The 13-year-old, who was born with cerebral palsy, enjoyed a trip to our base in Bolton where he was an honorary guest for the day and given the full Mission VIP experience.
Jackson was presented with his own Mission darts shirt, which had his nickname ‘Jacko’ printed on the back and got the chance to meet Mission’s player development manager Darryl Fitton, along with Team Mission players Alan Soutar, James Hurrell and Suzanne Smith on his access-all-areas day at our HQ.
The teenager from Irvine, North Ayrshire was told he would be wheelchair-bound his entire life, but is now able to walk unaided following a life-changing operation in the USA.
The power of the darts community helped raise funds for darts-mad Jackson to undergo the £70,000 operation, with donations coming from raffles, race nights, exhibitions, collections and contributions from some of the sport’s biggest names including Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson.
Wullie Burns, a friend of the Waddell family, said: “I first met Jackson when he was only four years old. His mum Jacqueline is friends with my daughter and informed me that this kid is darts daft and so our friendship began.
“I have been doing darts exhibitions for over 30 years and remember when his mum brought him to an exhibition with Dave Chisnall just to get his photo taken. Since then, he’s probably been to over 20 exhibitions and has met all the players on the circuit and played against lots of them.
“Going down to Mission Darts and getting the full Mission player treatment was the icing on the cake and means so much to him. We can’t thank Darryl Fitton and the team at Mission enough.”
Darryl Fitton added: “I was in awe of Jackson going through his daily routines with a smile, so to have him in for the day and seeing that smile and laughter in person was amazing. What a character he is, and we loved having Jackson and his family with us at Mission as our guests for the day.”
