Even though he needs a double lung transplant himself, Amsterdamhoek resident Peter Moore, 54, will tackle his biggest challenge yet next week when he swims 7km in the icy Sundays River to help a fellow transplant candidate.
Moore, a former navy marine who calls it his “crazy swim”, said: “I wanted to swim 7km on the 7th day of the 7th month to raise awareness for organ donation as one donor can save seven lives.”
He said he hoped this would be the first of many.
“Even if I am no longer here I hope someone else will do it,” he said.
He only has between 18% and 24% lung capacity.
Last year, he completed the SPAR River Mile, becoming the first oxygen-dependent person in the world to complete an open water swim event.
Moore suffered burns to his lungs when he rescued children from a Sandton creche after a chlorine gas leak.
Although he was fine for a while, the damage to his lungs has caused him to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“People can’t decide if I am amazing or mad,” he laughed yesterday.He met cystic fibrosis sufferer, Vanessa Neveling, 25, of Uitenhage, on Facebook and later went to visit her in hospital.
“We both need a lung transplant. I was very impressed with how courageous she is.”
Neveling is in the lung transplant programme at Groote Schuur Hospital, where she is waiting for donor lungs to become available.
“She has been in hospital a lot and there is a fund to help her cover her hospital expenses,” Moore said.
“I want to help her.”
He will be swimming from the slipway at Sundays River to the big sand dunes.
“For the first bit of the swim one of the ferries from Sundays River Adventures will accompany me and again for the last hour,” he said.
“I think it will take anything between five and seven hours. There will be an emergency boat if I run into trouble.”
He said he was grateful for the sponsorship of a wetsuit.
“The water is really cold so hypothermia is my biggest fear because I will be in the water for such a long time,” he said.
He said his lungs would not allow him to swim every day, but he exercises to strengthen his upper body.
“I can’t use my legs while swimming because they use too much oxygen,” he said.
He said Neveling’s courage had motivated him to take on a big challenge.
He recently started Just Breathe Marine, an organisation that creates awareness and provides support for COPD sufferers and also to provide the vehicle for his challenges.
Neveling said from Cape Town that she was grateful for all Moore was doing.
“He came to visit me in hospital at Cuyler Clinic. Next he said he wanted to help me. I was very surprised,” she said.
She will remain in Cape Town until she can receive a double lung transplant.
“This is a dream come true for me,” she said. “It is what I have been waiting for.”
Moore said he eventually hoped to be admitted to the same programme as Neveling and also receive a double lung transplant.
For more details on Moore’s swim and how to help Neveling, go to www.justbreathemarine.co.za