Jamie BartlettBundy, 50, dad to Pearl who passed away from an aggressive form of bone cancer called Ewing sarcoma in 2017, and his brother, John Bartlett, 56, completed the feat in seven and a half hours, paddling from Dungeness in Kent to Boulogne-sur-Mer in France on October 1.
They were raising money for #PearlPower, a Special Named Fund at CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association, set up by Jamie and his wife, Rachel, to raise funds for research into finding kinder, more effective treatments for all types of childhood cancer with poor outcomes.
Jamie said that having seen the pain that children with cancer go through, he was determined to push through his own during the challenge.
Jamie during the paddle boarding challenge
He said:
My body had started giving up on me a little while we were going across and the exhaustion towards the end really was kicking in, but that sort of drive to want to help was paramount throughout the entire day for me. The things I've seen in the past made it seem completely doable and that drive all the way through what we were doing was massive for me. I would have kept going because I know that it's nothing compared to what I've seen.
He added: “It was a remarkable day. It really showed me some things about myself that I wasn't really aware of.”
John said:
At no point did I think ‘we can't do this’, it was just about not overthinking it. Get your first mile done, then working in three-mile stints. When we got to six, we had a break. That was a 10-minute break. And then the next six. It's just having those little goals that keep you going.
John has also completed various other long-distance efforts in aid of #PearlPower, but said this challenge was particularly tough, testing his mental and physical endurance.
He explained: “Physically, it’s probably one of the toughest [challenges] because with cycling, for example, you can have easy sections and tough sections, so it’s peaks and troughs. Whereas paddleboarding, it's just solid, non-stop, so you don't get any respite.
“And the other thing was, while it was great being on the open water, we're in the middle of the ocean, so the scenery doesn't change. You've got no distractions.”
John, left, and Jamie paddle boarding
The brothers have been touched by the amount of donations and messages of support they’ve received for the challenge, especially when it had to be postponed several times due to the weather.
Jamie said:
I'm just so blown away by the amount of money we've raised and so grateful for everybody's support. It's really hard to find the right words of what that means.
Jamie spoke of his pride at having raised such a huge sum that will help CCLG continue to fund groundbreaking research to support children and young people with cancer, and of how Pearl was the driving force that kept him and John going during the challenge.
What we have achieved isn't paddling across the channel. It’s raising £15,000 to help families. I hope there are going to be families out there that won't have to go through what we went through because of the money we've raised. I feel unbelievably proud that we’ve done something that will help. And Pearl wanted to make a difference in the world. For a little girl, she was unbelievably moral, and she really wanted to make a difference. And she talked about that. We've done it in her name because I'd like to think that in a certain way, it was her that did this and she drove us forward to do what we’ve done, and this is for her.
John added: “It was very much in memory of Pearl, and raising this money is really important to helping other people not have to experience the pain that we did, whether that’s the child or the family around them.”
Thanks to overwhelming community support and challenges like Jamie and John’s, #PearlPower has, to date, raised almost £160,00 for CCLG. This has helped CCLG, together with The Bone Cancer Research Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and Ewings Sarcoma Research Trust, to recently fund four vital new bone cancer research projects as part of an £800,000 collaboration.
John, Rachel and Jamie
Rachel, Pearl's mum, said: "We’re delighted to have been able to help fund these projects, especially as they all focus on Ewing sarcoma – the childhood cancer that took our wonderful daughter Pearl.
"Pearl would, and should, be 18 now. I’ve no doubt she would be heading to university, off to have many adventures and to make the world a brighter place.
“When she was little, she spoke of becoming a lawyer so she could afford a stable of beautiful horses but who knows what her dreams would be now. It’s very sad not to know.
"So, our aim in funding these projects to find cures and kinder treatments for Ewings, is to quite literally keep kids’ dreams alive."
Hannah Ortega, of CCLG’s fundraising team, said: “Jamie and John’s dedication and determination have been nothing short of extraordinary.
“They’ve shown resilience and a desire to succeed, and we can’t thank them enough for their incredible efforts taking on this challenge, raising vital funds for research, and awareness of childhood cancer.”
