Jenny, a 40-year-old nurse with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, began her solo voyage from Hawaii with her 6-pound Maltese dog named Romeo aboard in April 2023. She arrived in Fiji on or about June 28th that year, having sailed 3200 miles along the Pacific coast. Although she named her voyage ‘Just a Lap’ Jenny has planned some very serious goals. Jenny’s priority is to raise awareness of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). A brief a description is that CMT is an inherited, neurological disease that so far is incurable. There is no cure as yet but there are 126,000 people living in the U.S. and 2.6 million people worldwide that have CMT.
Jenny has gained the respect and admiration of Cleary Simpson, CEO of CMTRF who recently said that setting aside all the CMT-related problems such as her grip, agility, and balance, Jenny is taking on a challenge that very few people in good health would even consider. Jenny expressed her own appreciation of the CMT Research Foundation saying that the non-profit has its focus on finding cures and treatments for CMT. She welcomes her newly formed partnership with the CMTRF. If her voyage is successful, Jenny will be listed in the Guinness Book of world Record being the first person with CMT to circumnavigate the globe solo.
A secondary goal of her voyage is to inspire people to set goals, work towards attaining them, and then share their heartaches and triumphs. Jenny believes that is what connects us and helps us to feel most alive.
The Gift
Jenny explains that as an ICU nurse for seventeen years, she was often moored in remote areas where she was the only medical professional. During her voyage, Jenny intends to volunteer her nursing skills to any areas that require multiple medical emergencies. She wants to continue providing medical aid wherever it is needed.
Before she leaves Fiji, she will stock her boat with additional medical supplies in order to provide sufficient medical care as needed throughout her journey. People can help fund her voyage through her Just a Lap GoFundMe page.
