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THE STORY

In the late summer of 2015 one of my closest friends Glen Cuthbert was diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia (AA). Fit as a butchers dog, always full of energy and incredibly active this rare but serious blood disorder changed Glens life overnight. Initially thought to be Leukaemia, AA is a condition where the bone marrow fails to produce enough essential blood cells. Glens immune system had identified his bone marrow as being 'faulty' and begun attacking it.

Since his diagnosis Glen was immediately administered bi-weekly blood transfusions - essentially to keep him alive. He underwent a course of immunosuppressive drugs (ATG) in the hope of resetting his immune system...this treatment was unsuccessful. Glen has been lucky enough to find a bone marrow donor with an exact blood match and has only just undergone a bone marrow transplant; the success of which is currently being measured.

MY CHALLENGE TO RAISE AWARENESS AND ££

Driven by my admiration for Glen's consistently positive approach to his illness, his strength of mind despite everything and in an effort to raise money and awareness for the Aplastic Anaemia Trust (http://www.theaat.org.uk)  I am PADDLE BOARDING ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL in early July 2016.

HOW?

Myself and another friend Adrian (who is paddling in aid of British Heart Foundation in memory of his late father-in-law) are already in training. I have acquired a 14ft touring paddleboard with the help of Dan from Revolution Skate Park, and A medley of early mornings, cold water, wind, waves and pitting ourselves against all conditions to build our stamina and fitness for the crossing are well underway. Along with lots of running, swimming and weight training to give us the best chance of making the crossing. The minor training I have completed so far has opened my eyes to the fact that this is not going to be an easy challenge........25 Nautical Miles and currents reaching 4-5 knots.......Come on Roberts I hear you cry!!

We are heading off from Dungeness and hoping to reach Boulogne on the French coast in under 8 hours (the world record is 5hrs 39 minutes - so 5hrs 38mins would be a nice touch) the week commencing 11th July. We will pick the best weather conditions of that week and simply go for it (with our support boat to navigate our way across the busiest shipping lane in the world and have permissions to cross the French shipping lanes)

YOUR SUPPORT 

Give generous donations - ££££££ to help raise awareness and fund research for this rare condition.

Give blood - donors have literally kept Glen alive since September 2015. you can register to give blood at https://www.blood.co.uk/

Give Bone Marrow - a beautiful stranger, unknown to Glen has undergone a bone marrow harvest and donated 1.2 litres of his bone marrow. To register go to https://www.anthonynolan.org

MY FEARS - not sharks, not tankers , not fog banks, not cross currents or tides, not waves, not being cold and wet......but simply a fear of not making it across. The more donations and money that I raise the more support I have to make it to France so please give what ever you can as every penny counts. Not only will seeing your names and donations on my page motivate the crossing it will most importantly help motivate my buddy Glen to get through this.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanking you all in advance for your generous support

Scott x

PS - the target is £1000 - lets smash it!