A LEADING ED consultant at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) has vowed to “get it done” as his team prepares for a mammoth cycle from Enniskillen to Wicklow in a bid to raise money for two local charities.
On Friday (August 2), Dr Hadi Hassanzadeh will kick off their three-day 170-miles cycle to Wicklow, with the aim of raising money for SWELL and Pulmonary Fibrosis Northern Ireland.
For the third successive year, a committed team of cyclists are preparing to take on ‘Hadi’s Charity Bike Ride’ and the SWAH ED (Emergency Department) consultant is delighted with the support.
“This year it wasn’t in my plans to run it because I’m so busy and didn’t see it happening but with the help of colleagues who had previously been on the ride, we’re doing it again,” Dr Hadi told the Herald.
“It’s now not SWAH staff only. People from outside the hospital are getting in touch and wanting to do it. We’re a welcoming group and we invite anyone to do it.
“We’re cycling from SWAH to Wicklow. It’s going to be rather a challenge, because it’s quite a long distance, but we’ll get it done.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Hadi came up with the idea for his fundraising cycle and his team has raised a staggering £15,000 for some of the county’s top charities in their previous two cycles to date.
With the 170-mile trek to Wicklow looming, the Fermanagh-based consultant is hoping that his event will make a difference to two charity organisations who help so many people in the locality.
“There are physical and psychological benefits [to cycling] and it’s a sport event and charity event. It’s good fun and it has turned into some people’s holiday that they look forward to,” said Dr Hadi.
“We raise a fair amount of money and we thought it would be nice to try and double up, to try and clear the backlog and the NHS waiting list.
“Each year we have raised on average £8,000 which is a phenomenal amount and we’re overwhelmed with the amount,” he added.
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