Sharlene and Wayne to cycle Argus for Sunflower

This year is going to a really exciting one for me coz the 2010 World BMX Champs will be hosted in Pietermaritzburg from 29 July – 1 August and I plan to cross the line first in the 45+ Womens Cruiser class – so watch this space!!!! BUT right now I’m focusing on something quite different – I will be riding the Argus on my BMX to raise funds for Sunflower Foundation and to raise awareness for the World Champs. The Sunflower Fund is a non profit organisation whose sole purpose is to raise money to pay for the tissue typing of potential bone marrow stem cell donors in turn building the Bone Marrow Registry of South Africa and giving patients suffering with leukaemia and other life threatening blood disorders the hope of finding their 1:100 000 donor match. Wayne Robertson was the inspiration behind my decision to do this. In 2001, while at Dirtopia on a dual slalom course, he crashed out while flying over a jump. He didn’t land it and crushed three vertebrae and broke three ribs. The result - both lungs collapsed and was paralised in both legs. He spent three weeks in ICU on a ventilator to keep him breathing. The doctors said that there was a good chance he would never walk again. Naturally Wayne refused to believe them and made a promise that he would complete 10 Argus Tours on his BMX just to prove them wrong. It took him a year, with the help of the best doctors, wife, family and friends to learn how to walk again. While in hospital Wayne spent many hours at the CAT scan machine in the Oncology Department and was often in the queue with young kids that were having Chemotherapy and who were far worse off than he was. He couldn’t use his legs, but knew that he had lived a full fun filled life and was going to continue living. The saddest part for Wayne was that some of those kids were not going to make it and they knew it too. It was the most terrible thing for him to see. For this reason, he has decided to ride and raise funds for Sunflower. 2010 will be his 10th Argus on his BMX, so when he asked me to join him I didn’t even hesitate to take up the challenge. He’s such an inspiration and is proof that the will to survive and stay focused on what you truly believe in really does pay off.
Anyone wanting to support us and pledge their donation can do so by direct deposit to:
Account Name: The Sunflower Fund
Bank: ABSA Bank
Account No: 4051834719
Branch: Tokai
Branch Code: 632005
Reference: Sharlene McGilvray or Wayne Robertson
Or by going to http://www.sunflowerfund.org.za/ and clicking on Sharlene and Wayne