A heartwarming gesture from a popular Lisburn restaurant

Molly decided she wanted to try to do something to let her boyfriend know how much she loved and appreciated him.

She reached out to different restaurants in the city to see if anyone could help and Chris Ferguson at Pizzarellys, one of Lisburn’s most popular and established restaurants, offered to lend a hand.

“My boyfriend Jason and I have been together for three years,” explained Molly.

"He's disabled and a wheelchair user. He plays powerchair football for the Northern Ireland national squad and has recently come back from Sydney as the NI team competed in the FIPFA World Cup.

"He owns his own powerchair football club based in Lisburn called Lightning PFC, one of only two in Northern Ireland, and he works for the Irish Football Association as a Disability Officer. Through his football club and his work, he never stops trying to make the world a more accessible and inclusive place.

"In his club, he offers so many disabled children the opportunity to play sport that they otherwise wouldn't get. He's an absolute star. He brightens up so many people's lives, including mine."

Molly continued: “Recently we've been through trials and tribulations as he's struggled with poor health. No one's fault but just the way it is when you love someone with a disability, chronic pain and a multitude of ailments.

"Caregiving, quite a lot of the time, has to come before love but because of his nature, Json never stops treating me, surprising me and putting the effort in to keep our relationship alive. It's not easy but we're a great team.

"So I wanted to treat him. I had reached out on Facebook to see if any local restaurants would do a romantic setup to surprise Jason with. OI wasn't expecting much.

"Pizzarelly's head chef answered my ad, he was the only business who did out of the hundreds of people who saw the post.

"Chris said he would do heart-shaped pizzas for us which was a kind enough gesture in itself but when we arrived, they had our table ready for us with the chair pulled away.”

Molly and Jason were delighted with the effort that Chris and the rest of the staff put in to making their visit special.

"We enjoyed a beautiful, fresh meal,” Molly continued. “Everything was fantastic and the staff were so friendly. We loved the food and the atmosphere.

"Not only did they go into the effort of heart-shaped pizzas, which Jason was absolutely beaming at, but at the end of our meal, the waitress said that the chef had decided to cover our entire bill.

"We were both shocked. I was so filled with gratitude by this act of generosity that I was crying at the table. I couldn't stop the tears.

"I was just completely overwhelmed with appreciation.

"Chris and the other kitchen staff couldn't have guessed how much we needed this act of kindness to pull us out of the darkness.”