Pair conquer Kilimanjaro in memory of Portland boy

Robert Hathway, 46, and Mark Rodgers, 51, completed their summit of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in memory of Kyle Spence of Portland, who sadly died of acute myeloid leukaemia aged 15 in September 2020.

The pair – long-time friends of Kyle’s parents – wanted to do something in his memory and to raise money for the hospital that provided his care.

Mr Hathway, a taxi driver for Weyline, said: “We came, we saw, we conquered Kilimanjaro in memory of you Kyle Spence.

"I cannot begin to tell you how hard this challenge was. Way harder than I could have ever thought.

“There were a couple of times that I had to lie down and almost quit, I thought I was done for. It almost killed me. But the guides kept me going and I am sure Kyle was giving us a push up the mountain himself.”

Kyle’s father Lee Spence said: “They have done Kyle proud. It's a fantastic achievement.

"He was very outgoing, something like this would have been right up his alley, it’s a great tribute.

“Obviously we are very touched. The Starlight Ward will be able to put the money they raised to good use.

“Thank you to everyone who donated and to Mark and Robert."

After a gruelling 6,000-metre climb over several days, the pair finished the last 1,400-metre leg of the mountain at 7am on Friday, February 3 and were rewarded with a majestic sunrise from above the clouds.

“That's it for me though, I'm never doing another mountain again. This has nearly killed me” added Mr Hathway.

“When you get higher and the altitude changes, it plays with your body. We were walking at maybe 0.5 miles per hour, just putting one foot in front of the other. It was so hard to breathe.

“When you can’t breathe you start to panic. We were going on two to three hours of sleep and no oxygen. It was so very hard. Each night the camps got smaller and smaller as people had to stop."

The duo have smashed their £5,000 target and raised almost £6,000 for the Starlight Ward at Bristol Children’s Hospital through their fundraising page www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Kili4Kyle23

Mr Hathway added: “We have exceeded what I hoped to achieve, it is a testament to the generosity of the local area. Can’t thank everyone enough, especially in these trying times.”