Former Yarmouth resident with inoperable brain tumour biking to raise funds for cancer society

“It was an excellent experience and I highly recommend any young man or woman to join. It builds character and discipline,” he said.

During those years he came out of his shell, built confidence and learned to believe in himself.

Belief in himself is carrying Ellis far these days. After taking an early retirement from the navy and now living in St. Catherines, Ontario, he became involved in mountain bike racing.

He fell off his bike several times during a race in 2004 and weeks later when the pain didn’t subside, made a doctor’s appointment.

A CT scan alerted the physician to a problem. The MRI and a biopsy confirmed a cancerous brain tumour. Removing it could result in paralysis.

Although chemotherapy and radiation kept Ellis off his bike for a while, he’s going to return to accomplish an important goal.

He plans on cycling 200 km in June from Toronto to Niagara Falls in the Ride to Conquer Cancer fundraiser and needs to raise $2500. This isn’t his first time volunteering for a cause. He rode for Multiple Sclerosis before the tumor and raced from Lake Erie in Port Colbourne to Lake Ontario in Port Dalhousie.

Ellis is riding an 18-year old mountain bike, which he says makes training and riding the tours “more physical”. He also suffers from sleep apnea and arthritis.

To combat the danger of his losing balance, he plans on biking at a comfortable pace, stopping at each rest station, drinking lots of fluids and eating fruits.

“I’m going to relax, enjoy it and put myself, my bike in the hands of God and let Him guide me through the 200 kms at 100 kms a day with a camp over in Hamilton,” he said.

Ellis, whose parents are Arnold and Bernise Ellis of Milton Highlands, is hoping his hometown of Yarmouth will help him with fundraising for this race.

“I want the place where I spend exactly half of my life 22 years (I'm am 44 now) to be part of this historic event with me,” he said.

He’s visited Yarmouth often since leaving in 1986 and misses the area a lot.

“They say you can take the person out of the Maritimes but you can't take the Maritimer out of the person and that is so true, part of me will always belong to Yarmouth,” he said.

“I wish my boys Zachery (10) and Mackenzie (9) could grow up with the open space and freedom we had then and not the dangers there are in a big city.”

Leaving a legacy of sorts to his sons is important to Ellis, who hopes to raise enough for a tangible sign of his accomplishments… but he says fundraising is harder than he thought.

“I was hoping to raise $10,000 to receive a plaque so I can leave my name on something I did behind me for my boys so they know what I accomplished when I was here.”

A portion of any excess money will be donated to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.

Donations for Paul Ellis can be made by logging on to www.conquercancer.ca. Click on sponsor and type in Paul Ellis.