Students Cycle 150km from Abu Dhabi to Tawam Hospital in Al Ain
The Lori Brandin Cycle for Cancer Awareness Drive was organized by the Abu Dhabi Men's College and Tawam in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine

March 27, 2008
Al Ain, UAE
A group of 25 students and faculty from the Abu Dhabi Men’s College (ADMC) cycled from their higher college of technology building located in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, to Al Ain’s largest hospital, Tawam in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine, on Thursday March 27th.  The one-way 150 kilometer journey aimed to promote cancer awareness by raising funds to purchase books related to the disease.

At the crack of dawn the enthusiastic cyclists were geared up and ready to embark on their journey towards the eastern oasis city of Al Ain or as locals refer to it, the Garden City. The 25 cyclists set off from the Abu Dhabi Men’s College’s main campus on Al Saada Street (19thst) and carefully made their way through traffic leaving Abu Dhabi behind them. They headed south-east along the Abu Dhabi - Al Ain Road towards the majestic Jebel Hafeet, the highest mountain in the country, reaching their final destination Tawam Hospital seven hours later.

Commenting on the cancer awareness campaign, Mr. Sam Fatima a faculty member at ADMC who led the initiative and whose wife died of cancer, said: “We are all here today to participate in this bike ride to promote cancer awareness. By raising money through the ride, it is hoped that others will be able to gain the support they need through the use of a range of resource books and cancer-awareness related books which will be available to all cancer patients and their families across the UAE through the networks of the HCT college libraries.”

“I organized this journey in memory of my loving wife, Lori Brandin. She had a stage four melanoma and was treated by Dr. Jaafar at Tawam. During her 6 month treatment here, the nurses and patients at the oncology department knew Lori as always had a smile on her face despite the pain. In January 2007 we returned home to California and after a long and brave fight this is where she passed away on June 5th. I wanted to honor her memory by fulfilling my promise to her and making her last wish a reality; making cancer related books available to cancer patients with the hope to make their lives’ and their families’ easier,” added Fatima.

Being an English teacher, it comes to no surprise that Lori’s last wish was to increase the knowledge and understanding of cancer through education. She worked in both Abu Dhabi and Al Ain as well as being the level two coordinator at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) for two years. She greatly contributed to the UAEU and other school communities by coordinating teacher training sessions and programs across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Alec Macleod Napier, Head of Patients Affairs at Tawam Hospital in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine, said: “We were delighted to catch the first glimpse of the cyclists and to observe the last stretch of their journey before crossing the finishing line at Tawam. The riders still managed to jump off their bikes, set them aside and hand out flyers, with the instructions on how to borrow books from the participating libraries, to the patients in the oncology department. It was truly remarkable!”

“It’s not every day that our patients have such visits and it will surely be a very memorable one for them. We look forward to being able to offer these books to the patients and their families in the very near future,” added Napier.

On behalf of the patients, social workers, nurses, doctors, physicians and management of Tawam Hospital in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine, Mr. Napier thanked Mr. Fatima and all the cyclists who participated towards the great cause and warmly invited them to return soon to visit the patients in the oncology department. Mr. Fatima gave his thanks to Tawam for taking care of, supporting and providing his wife with her every need during her stay at the hospital. Lastly, he extended his great thanks to the participants for their support and making Lori’s last wishes come true.   

During her treatment, Lori kept an online diary, please visit Lori’s website www.cancerbattleplan.info. To make a donation contact Sam Fatima via email at sam.fatima@hct.ac.ae.