Everybody involved with LoftforWords was saddened to hear of the passing of young R’s fan Laney Smith on Saturday, March 20.

You may recall an article on Laney carried on this website in 2007 where the club had arranged for striker Dexter Blackstock to pay her a visit at Oxford Radcliffe Hospital as she battled a rare form of cancer Neuroblastoma. Sadly Laney’s brave fight against this disease ended on the day of the Swansea home match with parents Marcus and Abbie at her side.

The courage Laney, aged four, showed in fighting her illness was an inspiration to many and numerous charity golf days, quiz nights and Christmas parties were held to raise funds and awareness of the disease. The Thomas Ball Children’s Cancer Fund took Laney to Disneyland Paris last December for her favourite holiday, and QPR chairman Gianni Paladini was one of hundreds who attended the funeral .

Laney’s dad Marcus told the Buckinghamshire Advertiser: “Laney was intelligent and always had her own view on things. She was a happy girl and always tried to have a smile on her face. She brought so much to our lives and we will miss her very much.”

Laney’s uncle Miles is running the London Marathon this weekend to raise money for CLIC Sargent, a charity that supports children with cancer and their families. You can sponsor Miles, who has already surpassed his £3000 fundraising target, by clicking on this link. There really is nothing anybody can say at such a time, especially with Laney being so young, but the LFW community has always been brilliant at rallying around in such circumstances and it would be wonderful if as many site regulars as possible could spare a couple of quid for Miles’ marathon effort on Sunday.

Our thoughts are with Laney’s family, and the very best of luck to Miles this weekend.

Photo: Action Images

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