Everyone at our Breck Road store in Liverpool is delighted to see our much-loved 82-year-old porter Joe Moran back at work.
Joe's been given the all-clear to come back to work after successful treatment for lung cancer – and says he couldn't wait to come back.
He said: "The thought of coming back to work was one of the things that kept me being determined to get well again. I really enjoy the company, the banter with colleagues and helping all the customers – and being a porter keeps you very fit. I don't like to sit at home doing nothing."
Three generations of Joe's family work at the store. His daughter Joanne Gardner is an Asda Ace, his grandson Daniel is one of the youngest Asda Produce section leaders at the age of 20, and his granddaughter Becky, who's currently on maternity leave, works in George Home.
Daniel said: "It's great to see Joe back at work doing what he loves to do, especially after everything he has been through in the past year.
"He loves working at Asda and when he was recuperating at home after his treatments he was always asking the doctor 'when can I go back to work?'.
"It's nice to have the four of us in the same store, though we all have different roles and shifts we don't see each other that much. We each get a different view of what has gone on at work each week and can share the news when we catch up."
Joe, who's lived in Liverpool all his life, was diagnosed with cancer after noticing pain in his shoulder and chest last spring. He ended up in hospital being treated for pneumonia when they discovered a shadow during x-rays, but has made a great recovery after a course of radiotherapy.
Before joining Asda Joe worked at Liverpool Docks, working on the cranes that load containers on and off.
He said: "I'm really glad I came to work at Asda after leaving the docks, as it is a much more sociable job – in the docks I only worked with one other person whereas now I've got a whole crowd of colleagues of all ages to chat to!
Joe said: "I like knowing my relatives are in the store with me, but I let them get on with it as they are all busy.""
The store's community champion Liz McCreery says everyone at the store is delighted to see Joe back at work.
Liz said: "Joe's a real inspiration and everyone's so glad to see him looking well.
"He is always smiling and never complains. He just gets on and works away until the job is done. He will always give time to stop and talk to someone who wants a chat or a joke.
"I think if I'd been through that, particularly at his age, I'd be stepping back now and looking after myself, but he couldn't wait to get back to work!"
