Andrew Devine has died, aged 55, the 97th victim of the Hillsborough disaster at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989. Andrew, then aged 22, suffered life-changing injuries because his chest was crushed and his brain was deprived of oxygen. His parents were told he would probably not live for more than 6 months. Andrew was a postal worker and was diagnosed as being in permanent vegetative state. Five years after this diagnosis, he began to emerge from PVS by looking at people. Then he began using an electric buzzer to communicate more and more with his parents, Stanley and Hilary, who have always looked after Andrew at home. Then, eight years later, he could count. Andrew has been confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak.

The love and support of Andrew’s family has kept him going. They said, “Andrew has been a much-loved son, brother and uncle. He has been supported by his family and a team of dedicated professional carers, all of whom devoted themselves to him. As ever, our thoughts are with all of those affected by Hillsborough.” When possible, Andrew attended Liverpool matches and, when they won the Champions League in 2019, the bus parade around the city stopped at the family home so that James Milner could show Andrew the trophy.

In 2002 a friend of mine spoke with Andrew’s father who told him Andrew’s progress had slowed. Andrew seemed to be happy most of the time and, although he could not speak, they managed to communicate as they watched television together and as his father took him out in his wheelchair every day. At that time Mr Devine said, “The experts thought it would be only two, then three, then five years. But Andrew has proved them all wrong. Yes, it is a strain for us looking after him, but he is our son, he needs us, and so we just get on with it.” When Andrew died his family said, “Our collective devastation is overwhelming but so, too, is the realisation that we were blessed to have had Andrew with us for 32 years since the Hillsborough tragedy.”

The loving care of Andrew’s family is a deeply moving example of the preciousness of every human being. Their love for Andrew reflects the love and compassion of God who “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”