When Kaleo Delovio began to feel sick 12 years ago, he had no idea what was going on.

He was experiencing constant pain, and could not lie down because, as he would eventually find out, he was full of water. Delovio felt worse by the day, and started to cough up blood. As he puts it: "It felt like I was drowning." 

The 33-year-old father of two began suffering from chronic kidney disease in 1998. While he was fortunate enough to receive a kidney transplant in 2002, Delovio was forced to go back on kidney dialysis — a process that involves filtering his blood three times a week for 4 hours at a time to remove excess water and toxins — in 2007 after further complications arose.

"There are pros and cons to everything," said Delovio of the transplant, which, while it helped him initially, would eventually create more problems. "I had to take a lot of medicine, see the doctor once a month, and my immune system was suppressed as my body tried to accept the transplant. Things started to go down again."

However, thanks in part to the efforts of Project Pure Light, the Big Island native will have the opportunity to forget about his pressing medical concerns with the opportunity to paddle in one of the world’s toughest tests of strength, endurance and will to fight on — one that does not involve a hospital bed or dialysis machine

Delovio is one of more than 1,000 paddlers expected to take to the water Sunday in the 59th edition of the Molokai Hoe — the unofficial world championship of outrigger canoe paddling. An estimated 100 crews from around the world will start off the 41-mile trek at Molokai’s Hale O Lono Harbor, cross the unpredictable Kaiwi Channel, and finish at Waikiki’s Duke Kahanamoku Beach.

Shell Va’a of Tahiti is the event’s record holder, and returns Sunday as the four-time defending champion.

But for Delovio and his crew, whose championship hopes are minuscule at best, the opportunity to compete in such a prestigious race with some of the world’s premier athletes will serve as a victory in itself.

Delovio started paddling this year with Keoua Canoe Club based at Honaunau Bay in south Kona as a way for him and his kids to be involved, and made it "a family affair."

As the long-distance season approached, Delovio learned that a spot on the Pure Light crew had opened up, and he quickly accepted the opportunity.

"I really didn’t know I was going to do it; I was on stand-by," Delovio said. "I found out about (Pure Light) from some of the coaches at my club, and once a seat opened up, I was able to get involved. We don’t really get to practice because the high airline prices make it hard to fly back and forth, so we all practice on our own and with our home clubs."

Project Pure Light is a nonprofit organization created 10 years ago to "allow physically, mentally and emotionally challenged individuals the opportunity to participate in ocean recreation programs, primarily through Hawaiian outrigger canoes," according to the program’s website. Pure Light Racing is the competitive arm of the organization, and features a crew of adaptive paddlers — which now includes Delovio — who will compete in Sunday’s Molokai Hoe.

"It’s pretty cool; it’s like a big family," said Delovio of the Pure Light crew, which recently completed the Henry Ayau Memorial Race, a 32-mile event from Maunalua Bay to Nanakuli Beach Park, as a final tune-up for Sunday. "It’s cool to watch them all, some are in wheelchairs and paralyzed from the waist down. They can only use their upper bodies."

The Pure Light project is headed by co-founder and executive director Aka Hemmings, who also coaches the paddlers. The effort has allowed numerous athletes to compete with little to no boundaries when they otherwise may have been denied the opportunity.

"It gives me time to be stress free, to go out on the ocean and paddle while building friendships and strengthening my body," Delovio said. "It’s something to do instead of lying around at home and doing nothing. That’s why I do it. I love paddling.

"When we finish, it’ll be a big accomplishment."