Jack was an all-round good egg with a dry sense of humour and a cheeky personality. He loved life, was fit and healthy, went to the gym everyday and took good care of himself. He was a lifelong Liverpool Football Club fan, took pride in his Nissan 350 Z and loved spending time with friends and family.
In his down time, Jack loved gaming on the computer that he built himself and he was a massive fan of all things Lord of the Rings.
When Jack was 23, he started to experience severe back pain, this was unusual, especially as Jack wasn’t one to complain. He went to see his GP, was told he had sciatica, and was sent away with painkillers. But the pain persisted and kept getting worse and the stronger pain killers he was subsequently given started to upset his stomach. He was referred to a physio but was told the same thing, he had sciatica.
At the same time this was going on for Jack, his dad Simon was also being treated for cancer. The family had decided to take a holiday of a lifetime to South Africa to be together and make memories as at the time, Simon’s prognosis wasn’t good.
Jack’s pain was so bad at this point, that he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to sit on the flight. Concerned, when they arrived in South Africa Simon asked his cousin if Jack could have an appointment with his friend who was a physiotherapist. Jack had an appointment the next day and was immediately told that the problem was in his hip, not his back. Simon recalls that this news seemed to really affect Jack and his fiancé Charlotte, as if they knew something serious was wrong.
When the family returned home after an incredible holiday, Simon pushed for Jack to have a scan, and in October 2018, he received the shattering news that he had chondrosarcoma.
A tumour the size of a tennis ball was found on Jack’s hip. He was told the only option was to have life-changing surgery and to have his leg, hip and part of his pelvis removed.
Jack and his fiancé Charlotte where due to get married the following year so they decided to bring the wedding forward to before the surgery, the family had an amazing day together.
Simon, Jack's dad
In November 2018, Jack bravely underwent his surgery. It had gone to plan and Jack had been in hospital slowly recovering. But 10 days later, Simon got a call, he was told he needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. “when you get a call like that you just know, I can’t really remember anything about that 40 minute drive”. Devastatingly, Jack suffered a massive bleed post-surgery that took his life.
Simon said “it is the most horrendous thing you ever have to go through in your life, some days I still can’t believe it. I miss our friendship, I miss watching the game together and him making fun of me!”
We always called Jack ‘Jack Sparrow’ and we wanted to set The Jack Sparrow Fund up not only to raise funds for vital research into this chondrosarcoma which gets such little funding, but to raise awareness to make sure young people are getting diagnosed quicker and not being sent away with pain killers like Jack was.
Thank you for taking the time to read Jack’s story. We really appreciate your support.
Simon and Jack’s family
Simon & Jack's family
You can make a donation or pay in funds raised by cheque, payable to Bone Cancer Research Trust, to:
Bone Cancer Research Trust, 10 Feast Field, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4TJ.
Please ensure you make it clear that the donation is for The Jack Sparrow Fund so that your donation is allocated to the correct fund.
100% of donations to The Jack Sparrow Fund will go to chondrosarcoma research.
