Oz to Anfield: Josh's story
A passionate Liverpool fan who suffers from a rare neuromuscular disorder is putting the finishing touches to a documentary that will detail his 10,500-mile trip from Australia to Anfield.
Joshua Hercus, who has Congenital Myasthenia, departed from County of Bendigo, Victoria in early May this year to make the long-haul journey to Liverpool where he took in both the Fulham and Chelsea matches at Anfield and the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Josh also made a trip to Melwood during his stay in Liverpool and now his plan is to give something back to the club by documenting his time spent in the city in the form of a film entitled "From Oz to Anfield".
Some readers may already be familiar with Josh's story, as a year ago he posted an article on our social media forum, The Kop. The blog, which received a great reception from fans and is currently the most viewed blog on The Kop with over one million hits, explained how Josh became a Liverpool FC fan while he was in hospital receiving treatment for his condition.
Congenital Myasthenia causes defects in the neuromuscular junction which brings about severe weakness in the muscles. It means that Joshua has to use crutches to be able to walk when his condition flares-up badly. Some days, it's impossible for the 25-year-old to walk at all and the condition can also mean he has difficulties breathing.
As a youngster he made frequent trips to hospital for treatment and after a visit from his three cousins, who prompted him to chose an English football team to support, he watched Robbie Fowler score a hat-trick on Match of the Day and decided Liverpool were the team for him.
Since then Josh has rarely missed a Liverpool game on television - be it a Champions League final or a League Cup 3rd round tie - he is as committed a Red as they come, even despite the fact he has to wait up until 4.30 in the morning to see most games.
In 2010, after completing his university degree, Josh decided to travel to one of the two experts in the world that specialises in his condition, to see if they could help with his treatment.
He made the trip on one condition: that he could see a bit of the world while he was there and most importantly he could make the trip to Anfield to see his beloved Liverpool play.
It was after this intial trip that Josh posted the article on The Kop that touched the hearts of the hundreds of thousands of those who read the poignant story. And This year he was back to film his documentary and become better acquainted with Liverpool the city as well as the club.
"The documentary is really about giving something back to the club and, in the process, raising awareness for what is an extremely rare condition," said Josh. "In terms of raising awareness, doing so through football and through Liverpool FC in particular, is a much better way of reaching out to people. It establishes a common ground.
"When I saw You'll Never Walk Alone on a poster it struck me all of a sudden that of all the clubs I could have chosen to support, Liverpool was the perfect match for me. There's such a sense of community here and I have always been given the warmest welcome when I have travelled here.
"During my most recent trip, I got a real feel for the city and it's definitely a second home for me now. I also learned plenty about our great club and I hope to represent all this in my documentary."
Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be keeping you up to date with Josh and his progress with the documentary.
To read Josh's blog, which was uploaded to The Kop last year, click here>>