It’s trauma that no person should have to go through. The loss of anyone in your life is traumatic enough, never mind the loss of your son or daughter, but that’s what former Motherwell man Chris Humphrey had to endure nearly 10 years ago.
His first-born son was born sleeping in 2009. It’s unimaginable pain that Humphrey and his family couldn’t have envisioned going through, in what was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of his and wife Kerry’s lives.
Humphrey went through something nobody ever should. (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
This all happened in 2009, the same year he arrived at Fir Park. He told NTOF about how the Well helped him through what was a terrible time personally for him.
He said: ” They looked after us. You here the stories about the English and the Scottish and how they don’t like each other and so on, but it’s not like that at all.
“Motherwell were welcoming, a proper family club, and they looked after me. I went through losing my son at the time I was there and they gave me all the time I needed. They sent me flowers and gave me support.
Humphrey holds Motherwell close to his heart. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/EuroFootball/Getty Images)
“It’s just a fantastically run club and I cant talk anymore highly of them. I had the time of my life up there, they changed my career.
“I played my best football under Stuart McCall I think, I’ve got a lot of time for the club. Motherwell always come together to bring the whole town together, they definitely do. They have a massive place in my heart.”
From Motherwell to Gretna, Humphrey has had the support of his wife and kids
Through the personal trauma to the gruelling travel demands and time away from family that football sometimes brings, Humphrey’s wife and kids have stood by him through all of it.
Humphrey has a strong family behind him. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/EuroFootball/Getty Images)
His commute as the manager of Gretna 2008 sees him take an approximate three hour and 18 minute round-trip between his home in Preston and Gretna’s ground Raydale Park.
The ex-Well winger had a serious injury which forced him into a temporary retirement from playing. He says, like many things in his life, he couldn’t have done it without the support of his family.
He said: “I dealt with the injury through having good family around me and my kids. My wife was fantastic. When you have those things around you, you can get through anything.
Humphrey and his wife Kerry have a close knit bond. (Photo by Kieran Galvin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Yeah it was difficult. Did me and my wife fall out a lot of times because of it? Yeah. We’re still together now though and it shows just how strong we were. It shows me that anything that happens in life you can get through it and move on. That’s really my backbone of where we are today.
“I’ve been with my wife for 15 years now, we’ve moved together in every club I’ve been at. She’s moved with me. We’ve not had family around us at all, we still don’t in Preston. We’ve literally gone off on our own and lived.”