Genny Brown - Aiming to be the first Aruban to ski to the South Pole and raise awareness on the devastating effects of Lyme Disease.

<div>Genny is from the sunny Dutch Caribbean Island of Aruba and moved to London 12 years ago. Prior to moving to the UK, Genny attended the University of New Brunswick in Canada where she fell in love with the great outdoors and learnt to cross-country ski and snowshoe and got into white water rafting and kayaking.</div> <div> </div> <div>Genny in her own words:</div> <div> </div> <div>In June 2008, I moved to the UK and lead a fairly healthy and active life until late 2013 when I suddenly fell inexplicably ill. Unbeknownst to me I had contracted Lyme Disease and my quality of life was severely affected until I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in the summer of 2016. </div> <div> </div> <div>Once I had recuperated I knew I wanted to do something to raise awareness on the seriousness of misdiagnosis and how it can affect every area of life. I knew I had the choice between becoming angry and embittered at the system which had missed the tell tale signs of the disease or the choice to speak of up for the untold number of patients who were suffering unnecessarily.</div> <div> </div> <div>The Goal</div> <div> </div> <div>In the winter of 2021, Genny will attempt to become the first woman from the Caribbean island of Aruba to ski roughly in Antarctica to the geographical South Pole. During the expedition, Genny will ski approximately 120km whilst pulling a heavy sledge containing her tent and provisions. The conditions will be extreme, with temperatures of -50° celsius and severe winds.</div> <div> </div> <div>The aim of the expedition is to raise £25,000 for Lyme Aid UK who provide grants for people with lower incomes to get privately tested for lyme disease.</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast are every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit that subscribe button so you don’t miss out. </div> <div> </div> <div>The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite pod