Battling against the current

Barely 24 hours after completing his goal to swim unaided between Comino and Cirkewwa/Marfa, Stephen Attard is already mulling his next challenge.

"Next year, God willing, I want to swim the stretch between Gozo and Malta," he said when contacted yesterday.

Swimming between the two islands is a mammoth task for anybody, but for Mr Attard it's an even bigger challenge.

He is bent on proving that people society view as "disabled" can do things "normal" people are unable to.

Yesterday, July 23, marked the 23rd anniversary from the day a horrific car accident in Targa Gap nearly killed him. Doctors had warned that if he lived, he would be a "vegetable for life".

Mr Attard suffered extensive head injuries that left him with physical disabilities, post-accident amnesia, plus memory and coordination impairment.

However, he defied all odds and with intensive therapy and a devoted family, he started from scratch replacing the wheelchair with a walking stick and relearning how to read and write.

Parts of his brain are still damaged, something he is trying to win over, and though he has a very fit, athletic body, it's not receiving the correct messages, so he has to be helped everywhere... except in the sea, where he finds his strength.

On Sunday, accompanied by his mother Margaret, two sisters Michelle and Catherine, and professional swimmer Nikki Farrugia, he took the plunge and left Comino at 3 p.m. to raise money for the Land (Living Ability Not Disability) Group.

The idea was to reach Marfa at about 7 p.m., but the strong sea currents pushed them past Armier, close to the White Tower.

Mr Attard was extremely upset and being a strong-headed person, he refused to land at the wrong spot. He wanted to reach Marfa, where all his supporters were waiting to cheer him on.

Despite everyone's warnings, he started to swim back, but the currents were too powerful and he finally gave in to his family's pleas to board an accompanying boat to Marfa.

"He spent an hour battling the currents to reach Marfa. When he sets his sights on something, he's very determined," his father Joseph said.

When the boat approached Marfa, Mr Attard insisted on getting back into the sea and swimming the last stretch to touch land on his own steam - he arrived at 6.30 p.m.

"I was determined to achieve my goal. The currents tired me out, but if you had to put me back into the sea a few hours later, I would have done it all over again," he enthused.

Mr Attard comes to life in the sea, because it makes him feel like a bird freed of its cage.

Despite a tiring marathon on Sunday, yesterday he put on his swimming shorts and went to the National Pool.

He thanked the people who accompanied him throughout the swim on two boats and a dinghy, mainly Ronald Cremona and his son Stephen, Caesar Xerri and Neville Xuereb.

"Without their constant vigilant presence, and untiring support of all my family I would never have made it."

Those who wish to support Mr Attard's cause can send a donation to the HSBC account 075038646050, or a cheque payable to Living Ability Not Disability, c/o St Anthony Hse, E.H. Furse Street, Msida.