The death of a close friend led me here

Erwin died of esophageal-cancer 5 years ago. He was two years older than me. He was a triathlete like me. Like me, he run through forests and over mountains, pedaled through the landscape of various countries and continents, in wind and weather with the (aerodynamic) race-bike, like me, he plowed through salt- and freshwater-lakes or oceans.

Due to our age and our life plans, the semi-professional-struggles ended, and we became senior-athletes.

He changed his job and brought his (only) son on the path of life, and with his wife he devoted himself to his home-renovation.

I got married, got settled and my wife and I got a daughter. We just needed to live on.

I remember when and where I got the phone-call from Erwin. It was 3 months after the birth of my daughter. I had just refueled my car and sat behind the steering-wheel.

His voice on the phone was that of an old man. Brittle. Quietly. Trembling. He said that he would go to the hospital now to "do a chemo." I was completely flat. What? How? What now? Why? For some time, something was bothering him when swallowing, and the doctor said that there is a tumor in the esophagus. A little minimally invasive surgery, a little grooming and the cake is eaten. See you.

We never met again. The first chemo-treatment brought a success. Just when I wanted to visit him at home, he had to go to the oncology-station. A second round of chemo arrived. He was dead five months later.

That had shaken me. It was even worse, because another sport-colleague died of another tumor three years earlier. It was a wicked-death, because it was a brain-tumor. I saw Ralf - the sport-colleague - in his final stage. I cried for three days. I was so shaken. Ralf's death was a salvation, for him!

Two winters ago, my younger sister was on it. She was diagnosed with breast-cancer. MRI also showed that methastases were also present in her lymphatic system. A radical-cure completely overturned her. Now, a 3/4 year after the last treatment, she is fine. The fear remains. I’m scared. My sister sees that sporty.

An anger, a helplessness, a rage grew in me. I was unable to help. Apart from my compassion, my material help or my condolences, I can give nothing to those affected or to their relatives. But I got insight into the charitable support. I saw that there are people and there are organizations that can help and support when the medical work is completed or particularly required. Meaning: The charitable-societies, the cancer-aid or cancer-companies close the supply-gaps for the patients and their relatives.

Who pays for the daily maintenance of the parents of children with cancer, when they can no longer work because they have to stay with the little worm on the ward every day? Where can wives or uncle, aunt, husband, friend, sister, brother live if the patient to be treated, comes from the furthest corner of the republic, and if a therapy is announced for 6 weeks? For a six-week hotel stay, the caring family members are missing out on every penny! Who supports the patient, if only this one therapy helps and urgently needs to be applied, but which lies outside of the health insurance benefits? I also realized that not everyone could be supported immediately. Here an idea germinated in my head.

I had never raised my legs since the end of my triathlon-career. Although I was not (as I am) as lean and as wiry as before, but I was still well on the way. Especially in swimming, I cleared something away. I started to favor Open Water Swim. I started at various German-Championships and other International-Championships. In competitions without 5 km distances I did not even start. Logically, I could not compete with the young sharks; however, I made a name for myself in the master-competitions. But this rush became too monotonous and bored me. I now swam over ocean-passages or long-distance marathon races; and I left behind a powerful impact at the 2017 “Beltquerung” (GER-DK). I made the third best crossing swim time ever! And I wanted more. I wanted to tackle the English Channel. Since this event is logistically, financially and athletically a powerful number, my idea seedling began to grow bigger and bigger. I asked companies to sponsor my English Channel Crossing. Since a private pleasure does not attract a couple of farm animals behind the stove, I wrapped the swim-event into a charitable project. The first potential donors asked me why they should donate money about me to a cancer society, if it could be considered directly by the company? A well-known global corporation donated to the charitable organization that I had chosen for my advertising support, but I had nothing of the donation. So I founded my own charitable association. In order to spend donation certificates on this charitable association, you have to perform a brisk dance with the tax office, but I also managed the dance (managed by the German-Tax-Law, hurra J). Nevertheless, I did not get anything from the 275 companies that I contacted (across the board: private banks, state-owned banks, global corporations or local businesses, handicraft or manufacturing industries, companies for men or women, children and pets, whether eating, drinking or sleeping , Build, Car, Clothing, Convenience, French fries, Mayo, Ketch-Up, all included)!

No, wrong, not anything! I got 65 muesli-bars and a pallet of caffeine-beverages from Switzerland – that gives you wings.

So my friend! Now all the more! I asked myself the questions: Why do I have to swim a passage that is slowly becoming the Mount Everest of swimming? Why do I have to organize 4000, - Euro, and must take a three year application period and waiting time, if I have enough water around me? Why do I not do something no one has ever done before? Why do I not organize a marathon-swim by myself? Why do I not organize a local benefit-swim-cup for local sufferers, and do not ask local people and businesses for donations and support? Why do I not organize this by myself and create an own support-team? Why do I not let the seedling, which has now become a big tree, become a bigger plant, that is full flourished and green?

Why should I wait? Why should Erwin, sitting up in the heavenly swimming pool and slapping an iso-drink with milk and honey, not experience that in 2019? Why should Ralf not experience that? Why should not my sister get that from her big brother? Why should not residents, local businesses, tourists, authorities, politicians, the police and the worldwide network be interested in it?

What stands against a record? The record, to swim from Ratzeburg to Travemünde, on one day in 2019 (approx. 40 km)? The record in 2020, to swim from Travemünde to the Fehmarn-Sund-Bridge (approx. 55 km)? The record in the year 2021, to be the fastest swim-mate around the island of Fehmarn (without a wetsuit; Wolfgang Kulow made the distance 20 years ago in a diving-suit; approx. 60 km)? And finally the record, to swim from the Fehmarn-Sund-Bridge to Behrensdorf / Todendorf, in 2022 (approx. 35 km)? This project is now called: The Baltic 4our!!

The answer is simple: Nothing stands against it!! My name is Ulli Stägemann, Ich bin ein Ultra-Schwimmer.