by Marika Azzopardi

Some people are born to be something others will never be. That much is true of Dr Danica Bonello Spiteri. Sports being imprinted in her genes, she is perhaps more widely known for her sporting proficiency, rather than for her actual profession which is medicine, with the latter, being also sport-related.

Her father, like herself a past President’s Award sports person, has been her constant inspiration. “As a young girl, I vividly recall browsing through his logbook, all carefully handwritten with black and white photos and knew I wanted to achieve a Gold Award too. I remember ‘playing’ with my dad’s trophies and once I told him I wanted to win bigger trophies than his when I grew up! He was the school record holder for certain race distances and ‘Sportsman of the Year  Award’ in 1964 for the Sliema district.  As I grew up, I managed to beat some of his timings!”

Although sports did not always feature in her early family life, she was encouraged to try different sports so that she eventually discovered triathlon as the sports most suited to her abilities and tastes. She has persisted in triathlon since she was 14.

“My father has been a source of support and encouragement in my sports career from my first races (where he always came to watch me and have a bar of chocolate ready and waiting for my post-race recovery!) Up till today, he is also involved in the Malta Triathlon Association and keeps tabs of my progress. I was offered the opportunity to achieve the President’s Award when I was studying at St. Aloysius College, and I worked hard in order to cover all four aspects of the Award – Sports, Skill, Community work and Expeditions. This led me to being presented the President’s Gold Award aged 18.” Eventually she was awarded the Sportswoman of the Year 2010, as well as the SportMalta Award for 2011, which are the two most prestigious sports awards in Malta.

With sports being a lifelong feature, she has nonetheless shouldered new challenges in life, including a career in medicine. How does she juggle this, including family life? Danica explains her way of life, “I have been involved in a number of sports, since I was two, so sports has ‘grown’ on me. It’s not easy, but I’m very self-disciplined, hard-working and try not to waste time – it’s all about time management and multi-tasking. The main problem is that any free time on my hands is used to ‘get things done in advance!’ My husband – Malta’s top cyclist Etienne Bonello-  sometimes has to actually tell me to stop and have a break in the evenings! I still try to keep up with my social network of friends, meeting them for a swim, bike -ride or run, rather than a coffee!”

The interview touches upon Danica’s studies. Why medicine?  “Sciences were always a favourite at school and this led me to medical school. I graduated in 2004. It seemed a natural progression, perhaps because I enjoy being of help to other people. My other option had I not become a doctor, would have been to become a Biology or Physical Education teacher.”

Initially studying internal medicine, she veered off towards something more to her liking. “I seriously wanted to combine my sports interest with my career, so sports and exercise medicine seemed a viable option.  This specialization helps me on a personal sporting level. I have lectured at UOM’s Institute of Physical Education and Sports for three years, something which allows me to progressively develop my teaching skills.”

Sports and Exercise Medicine as a specialization is actually quite vast and not just about athletes. “Sports Medicine involves Musculoskeletal Medicine – joints, muscles, tendons, ligamentous and soft tissue injuries. The commonest cause of musculoskeletal disorders is inactivity and sedentary office-based jobs! We deal with active people doing all forms of exercise  – DIY jobs actually keep us quite busy! People typically visit GPs with shoulder, elbow, hip, back or knee problems. Following repeated consultations they tend to end up in front of an orthopaedic surgeon, yet surgery is not a feasible option. Here is where musculoskeletal medicine helps link the bridge.” Exercise Medicine is about getting chronically ill people to increase activity to improve health and well-being. Danica is particularly interested in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation through exercise, as well as the provision of tailor-made exercise for diabetics.

Having an ‘athlete’s way of thinking’ is essential in this specialization. With musculoskeletal problems, dealing with active/athletic people and their expectations and demands, is different from dealing with inactive people. Being able to understand specific sport demands and being familiar with the body’s response to exercise, how exercise is measured, how personalised exercise prescriptions and rehabilitation programmes are prepared, allows her a holistic approach with patients.

“I am in a training post at ST4 level, based in Leeds, undergoing specialist training for the next three years to complete my competency requirements. At 31years of age sports keeps me very fit and young.  My daily life is quite full and I make the most of it. I believe opportunities come along only once, and it is up to us to grasp them, rather than let them go by, as we have no guarantee of our tomorrows.  As doctors, we face death on a daily basis and this has re-enforced such belief.  I totally believe life is not made up by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away. I am lucky to state that I have had innumerable such moments!”

Presently Danica is taken up with preparations for her involvement in the London Summer Olympics 2012 – not as an athlete, but rather as a medical professional. She was selected to form part of the sports medicine team, working alongside Olympians – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Plans for the future are varied but as she admits, “In the long term, I am working hard towards finishing my specialization and hope to bring this to Malta, but I leave my options totally open, depending on what life throws at me. I am also focusing on upgrading my triathlon career, and my decision to move to the UK has greatly helped in this aspect, as I have higher standard triathlon competitions and training opportunities. We’ll wait and see what the future brings forth …”