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.
Genny in her own words:
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.
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.
The Goal
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.
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.
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.
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 podcast and becoming a patron please check out
www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
Show notes
- Where Genny is from
- Living in London for the past 12 years
- Working in the mining industry
- Her childhood in Aruba
- Her dreams as a little girl
- The December 2021 expedition
- Dealing with cold weather
- The why behind the challenge
- Being diagnosed with Lyme disease
- What is Lyme disease
- Turning the dream into a reality
- Not having any ideas about money or the time it would take
- Being naive
- Getting corporate sponsorship
- Learning to embrace failure
- Figuring out the timeline and date to go
- Dealing with setbacks and keeping motivated
- The planning and preparation for the adventure
- What do I want this to look like?
- Feeling overwhelmed with excitement and emotion
- Dealing with concerns
- Being prepared
- What if I don’t like it…
- Being able to risk assess
- Getting the balance right with training
- What a typical week looks like
- Having a funding gap…
- Doing a practice expedition in Northern Norway
- Luxury items or minimalist
- Having a nice G&T while on the ice
- Figuring out the snacks
- 8hr cream
- Dealing with uncertainty
- Taking time to breathe and to just be
- Why movement is so important
- Blog post - The Vortex of Uncertainty - September 2, 2020
Social Media