UK cardiologists to cycle across Sri Lanka for ‘Little Hearts’
View(s):Dr. Divaka Perera (Interventional Cardiologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital), Prof. Michael Marber (Professor of Cardiology at King’s College London) and Dr Peter O’Kane (Interventional Cardiologist at Royal Bournemouth Hospital) are part of a five-man team who will cycle across the length of Sri Lanka beginning today to raise funds for Little Hearts (a charitable initiative of the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
The Cardiac Cycle Lanka team: Setting off today
The charity project, Cardiac Cycle Lanka, aims to raise Rs. 3 Million or more to help the international fight against heart disease.
From today, Sunday, June 11 to Monday, June 19 the team of five will cycle 750 km, travelling from south to north Sri Lanka. They will start at Dondra and finish at Point Pedro, travelling via Sri Lanka’s East Coast. Some of the world’s top cardiologists and heart researchers will be in the region for the Academic Sessions of the Sri Lanka Heart Association and will gather at the start to send the team off.
The team consists of friends and colleagues, many of whom have not been on a bike for 20 years or more. The three cardiologists will cycle alongside Dr. Rob Daniels, a General Practitioner in Exeter, and Sri Lankan-born Shamindra Perera, a Fund Manager in London. They have already raised more than Rs. 2 Million to help fund the construction of a children’s cardiac and critical care complex at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Colombo – a Government-approved project, deemed a national priority, and to support the BHF’s life saving research.
The team acknowledge that this challenge is out of their usual comfort zone, but feel it is entirely worthwhile putting the effort into training and completing the ride itself. The weather conditions (35°C+ temperature and 80%+ humidity) could make it even harder. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that we’re all very much looking forward to embracing,” a team member said.
For more,see: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170611/.