Wills and Kate in glowing tribute to courage of... £3million Bowel Babe
THE DUKE and Duchess of Cambridge paid tribute to cancer campaigner Deborah James yesterday as donations to her ‘Bowel Babe’ fund passed the £3million mark.
Miss James, who has stage four bowel cancer, invited those following her plight to ‘buy me a drink to see me out of this world’ after revealing she had moved to hospice care on Monday.
By last night, the charity fund had hit £3,125,000, with Prince William and his wife Kate vowing to make a donation. A royal aide said the Cambridges, ‘along with the rest of the nation, have been touched by her story and huge efforts to raise awareness’.
Miss James, 40, had initially said she did not want her children to see her after telling them the ‘horrendous’ news that she is dying. However, the BBC podcast host now plans to have ‘one last cuddle’ with Hugo, 14, and Eloise, 12. She has ‘strict instructions’ for her husband, Sebastien Bowen, to find love again after her death.
‘It has been hideous telling my children,’ she said. ‘We have had a string of emotional conversations that have escalated very quickly from supportive care to end-of-life care. Sebastien has been incredible, he has dropped everything and is with me 24/7.
‘My first thought was [that] I don’t want my children to see me like this. I didn’t think I would be able to speak to them without crying, but I’d love one last cuddle with them.’
On Monday Miss James, who became known as the Bowel Babe after sharing her experience on social media, announced that – after having 17 tumours removed – she has been moved to hospice care as her ‘body simply isn’t playing ball’.
She is now trying to ‘compartmentalise’ her death to focus on buying gifts, making memory boxes and recording letters and ‘funny messages’ for her children. ‘I also want to write them postcards, but I have to be honest, I get really tired,’ she said.
Miss James also has a wish for her husband, whom she married in 2008. ‘I want him to move on,’ she added. ‘He’s a handsome man. I’m like, “Don’t be taken for a ride, don’t marry a bimbo, find someone else who can make you laugh like we did”.’
Miss James, a former teacher, moved to her parents’ bungalow in Woking, Surrey, as she can no longer use the stairs in her townhouse in London. In her final interview she told The Times she wants ‘to die listening to my family’, adding: ‘I just want to hear their banter and the normal buzz of life as I go.’
She has planned her funeral and cremation to ease the ‘burden’ on her loved ones.
‘Touched by her story’