Fareham girl named among News Years Honours for 'amazing' sponsored paddleboard across the Solent
WHEN 12-year-old Seren from Fareham returned from her almost five-mile paddleboarding journey across the Solent her efforts helped raise more than £100,000 for her dad’s life-prolonging surgery.
In September the determined daughter paddled from the Isle of Wight to Gosport as part of a sponsored event to raise funds for her Royal Navy engineer father, Paul, who was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.
The £106,389 raised by generous supporters has since paid for 41-year-old Paul’s proton beam therapy, a specialist treatment not offered by the NHS to shrink the tumour.
After being listed as part of the News Years Honours for 2021, she said: ‘It was quite an amazing experience. To know what I did has been able to help my dad in this way is the best feeling.
‘Just a huge thank you to everyone who donated. Every penny that was donated helps. Some people put in £1, some people put in £1,000 and it’s all made a difference.’
Paul has completed the proton beam therapy and is now part-way through a course of chemotherapy.
Despite a recent seizure that meant he spent a few weeks in hospital he was able to be home with the family over Christmas.
He added: ‘It was a huge relief when we saw we had raised enough for the therapy. I am so proud of Seren.’