Man moved by father's death to take part in Life Cycle

When Joe Cassano's father, John, died of renal failure five years ago just two days before celebrating his golden wedding anniversary, Life Cycle, the charity for kidney patients, was in its third year.

He and his mother were his father's main carers during the illness, although the whole family did their bit to help.

Mr Cassano recalled that his parents had bought a maisonette in Naxxar as they prepared to return from the UK, where they had spent 25 years, to spend their retirement in Malta.

But his father only enjoyed his retirement for one year. He fell ill when he was 66. One of his biggest problems was kidney failure.

He was on dialysis for about five years. Initially, he was put on home dialysis but this was unsuccessful so he had to go to hospital for treatment three to four times a week for three to four hours every time.

Mr Cassano said that because of age and other health issues his father was so weak that he sometimes passed out in the car while he was being driven home. And the symptoms of a morning session in hospital could last all day.

Mr Cassano is now one of over 60 people doing the Life Cycle challenge this year. He said he only became aware of the initiative towards the end of his father's illness.

The idea of doing the challenge had often crossed his mind since but for one reason or another he never got round to it. However, last summer he bought a bicycle and sent an e-mail to the creator of Life Cycle Alan Curry who was at the time busy with preparations for that year's challenge.

Mr Cassano said that although he was not at all involved in the challenge last year, he went to see the cyclists off at the airport and followed their progress through the media.

On the cyclists' return, he met Mr Curry and from an unfit person who found it exhausting to cycle from Naxxar to Gharghur, he is now training four to five times a week giving his life a bit of purpose.

Mrs Cassano was initially concerned about her son's decision but is now getting used to the idea.

And he is finding support from his colleagues at work. The company he works for, Thomas Smith &Co Ltd, has opened an account where staff may donate money to Life Cycle.

The fund reached Lm1,000 a few days ago and a cheque was presented to Mr Cassano for Life Cycle. He collected another Lm200 from his daughter's school, Maria Regina Junior Lyceum in Blata l-Bajda, after they held a dress-down day to raise funds.

The renal unit at St Luke's Hospital currently has 180 patients who are either on haemodialysis or on peritoneal dialysis.

Its mission is not just medical treatment but improving the quality of life of patients. For this reason, new techniques are continuously being introduced in order to keep up to date with the latest technology in dialysis.

Life Cycle contributes to improving the quality of life of patients. The Life Cycle Challenge was founded in 1999 to raise awareness and generate support for patients suffering from end-stage renal failure (chronic kidney disease).

This year's Life Cycle Challenge is called Over and Above - Crossing the Arctic Circle. It is being held between July 29 and August 9 and covers 2,018 kilometres from Oslo in Norway through Kiruna in Sweden and up to Roavaniemi in Finland.

Donations to Life Cycle can be made at its Bank of Valletta and HSBC accounts or by sending an sms on 5061 7356 for a Lm1 donation, on 5061 8921 for Lm3 and on 5061 9208 for Lm5. They can also be sent c/o the Renal Unit, St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia.

www.lifecyclechallenge.com