An avid exercise enthusiast, Alexandra Bonnici, 25, had an aversion to bicycles and could not begin to fathom how anybody would want to spend hours cycling.
Until her job as a gym instructor at St Aloysius College brought her into contact with Alan Curry, the founder of Life Cycle, a challenge which raises funds for the renal unit at St Luke's Hospital and the Transplant Support Group.
Mr Curry, whose wife had kidney problems, was looking for cyclists who would be prepared to take on the first Life Cycle challenge in 1999 to raise funds for the renal unit.
"I had knee problems and a pet hate for bicycles so my instant reaction was a resound 'no'," she smiled.
Instead she opted to help the group in small administrative jobs but when the team returned from the challenge, their excitement rubbed off on her and Ms Bonnici started entertaining the possibility of joining the team the following year.
"I sought advice from a physiotherapist, who recommended against me taking part if I didn't want to end up in a wheelchair by 30," she recalled.
However, Ms Bonnici loves a challenge more than she hates bikes so she started training to build up her leg muscles to compensate for weak knees. Her resolve was further strengthened when she went to the renal unit and witnessed the suffering of those who had kidney problems.
Soon after she was on the road trying to keep up with the seven men on the team.
"God only knows how many times I suppressed my tears as a I struggled to cycle up a hill as the guys waited for me at the top, getting dizzy as they went round a roundabout several times just to keep going until I reached them," she added.
The entire gym and her friends were placing bets behind her back as to how far she would get before giving up. "I had no clue this was going on until after the challenge. Nobody thought I would surpass more than three days of the 12-day challenge - I surprised everyone because I managed the 12 days, albeit at a snail's pace," she said with a hearty laugh.
Ms Bonnici kept taking part to raise funds and this is the first year she has had to, somewhat reluctantly, give up taking part as a cyclist to make way for new people. Instead she will be part of the back-up team sharing her expertise with the 37 cyclists, the majority of whom are new to the game, who will be embarking on this year's Life Cycle - a 1,850-km ride from Budapest to Athens. This year the team leaves on August 28 and returns on September 9.
"Alan had an idea and he managed to create a huge event. I thank him personally, because this event strengthened my character and made us realise how lucky we are to be strong," she said. Ms Bonnici is also serving as a mentor for newcomer and Life Cycle's youngest cyclist Alexandra Cremona, 17, who got roped into taking part while doing her rehabilitation at the gym following knee surgery.
A basketball player with the national team, Ms Cremona was forced to take a year off after she tore her cruciate ligament. While at the gym she was approached by Mr Curry and she jumped on the chance to do something.
She had never cycled on a professional level, so when she started training on May 1 she found the drill a bit daunting, especially cycling on the road where drivers whiz past irrespective of the cyclist's safety. She soon got the hang of it and today she oozes confidence.
"I know I went in for the right cause. We have to endure whatever comes our way but unlike patients of the renal unit we have a choice and we are choosing to help them," she said.
Ms Cremona had to give training a break this week because her old knee injury is coming back to haunt her.
But Ms Bonnici encourages her on: "I'm sure you'll be back on the road in no time at all... you will succeed in completing the challenge. If I did it, so can you."
Dialysis Treatment
Dialysis treatment is very expensive and can cost about Lm10,000 per patient per year. It is estimated that the annual running costs to treat the present number of patients are over Lm1.8 million.
Furthermore, the mission of the renal unit is not just the medical treatment but improving the quality of life of the patients. For this reason, new techniques are continuously being introduced in order to keep up to date with the latest technology in dialysis.
However, as expected, such technology requires extra funds even though there has always been great support by the Health Department. Indeed, dialysis treatment has been described as a "bottomless pit" regarding the need for funds.
Life Cycle, together with the government, is directly contributing to the patient to receive a better quality of life.
The renal unit presently lists 180 patients who are either on haemodialysis or on peritoneal dialysis.
These are divided as follows:
a) A total of 110 patients are on haemodialysis. These need to attend four-hour treatment sessions at the renal unit, three times a week.
b) Seventy patients on peritoneal dialysis. These patients perform a special treatment at home, after receiving a special training course at the renal unit.
The patients come from different walks of life and their ages vary from six to over 80 years. The life of these patients depends on dialysis; without dialysis, they would die.
Their only hope to stop treatment is if they receive a transplant. Unfortunately, transplants are very rare. This means that more and more patients will be remaining on dialysis for the rest of their lives. Those who wish to help this year's Life Cycle Challenge can send a donation to these two accounts: HSBC 0611987 920 50 or Bank of Valletta 148 14521017.
Otherwise send an SMS to the following numbers: 5061 7351 to donate Lm1; 5061 8928 for Lm3 or 5061 9208 for Lm5.
A cheque or postal order can also be sent to: Life Cycle Organisation, c/o Renal Unit, St Luke's Hospital, Gwardamangia, Malta.
Donations can be made online: www.lifecyclechallenge.com
About Life Cycle
The Life Cycle Organisation was founded in 1999 with the aim of creating awareness and generating support for patients suffering from end stage renal failure (chronic kidney disease).
The aims of Life Cycle are to:
¤ Collect, circulate and publish information promoting quality care to renal patients in Malta.
¤ Organise activities and collect funds in aid of the renal unit at St Luke's Hospital.
¤ Donate all net funds and donations to the Health Ministry for the exclusive use of renal units.
¤ Organise awareness campaigns to highlight the situation and needs of renal patients in Malta.