Watch: ‘Courage Is Half The Cure’ – Meet The Man Whose Childhood Battles With Leukaemia Inspired Puttinu Cares’ Growth
Battling cancer is always a daunting challenge… and it’s only made worse if it happens twice by the time you become a teenager.
Rosenwald Spiteri first came to face-to-face with cancer when he was diagnosed with leukaemia at just nine years old. “I just kept staring at doctors, I didn’t even know what it meant,” Spiteri told Lovin Malta.
Still in its early days back then, Puttinu Cares saw beloved hero-doctor Victor Calvagna suggest that Spiteri seek treatment abroad, through a bone-marrow transplant in the UK.
Spiteri’s treatment took six long months, with complications arising with everything from a chicken pox break-out to a lengthy, expensive search for apartments. “My parents were unemployed, obviously, to spend six months with me, but you still have to live, and eat, and everything,” he recounted.
“We got back to Malta, and from then, Angele and Rennie (the Puttinu Cares president and CEO) realised that something needs to be done for things like this,” Spiteri remembers. “And Puttinu started growing.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Rosenwald to have to test just how much bigger Puttinu had gotten… because by 14, his cancer returned.
“The difference was staggering the second time round,” Spiteri told Lovin Malta. “They give you the key, the location, you know where you’ll be staying, your mind is at ease because you know that after the hospital you’ll find a roof above your head and a pillow to sleep on. It’s very different.”
18 years later, Spiteri is 32, happy, healthy and the father of a baby girl. And it’s all thanks to Puttinu Cares, and the progress he saw first-hand within the incredible charitable organisation.
Success stories like Rosenwald’s are only possible thanks to events such as the massive annual fundraising marathons. This year’s edition will run on Good Friday, 29th March.
For individuals and smaller organisations who are also keen to help, please visit https://puttinucares.org/your-donation, call the Puttinu Cares donation lines, send a donation by text or bank transfer to:
Donation Lines:
5160 2007 – Eur10
5170 2006 – Eur15
5180 2008 – Eur25
5190 2062 – Eur50
SMS Donations:
5061 6499 – Eur1.16
5061 7380 – Eur2.33
5061 8939 – Eur6.99
5061 9225 – Eur11.65
HSBC Bank Transfer
Account number: 089077341001
IBAN: MT55MMEB44897000000089077341001
Swift Code: MMEBMTMT
Cheques can be made payable to Puttinu Cares
Address: Rainbow Ward, Level -1, Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, Msida, MSD 1234
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