Denvilles artist to take Boxing Day dip in the sea at Hayling Island to raise awareness of neurological condition

MOST people spend Boxing Day in their pyjamas, but a Denvilles woman is choosing to take a daring dip in the sea for charity.
Belinda Dickins
By Belinda Dickins
Published 14th Oct 2020, 12:30 BST
Karina Vaile, from Denvilles, will be doing a Boxing Day Dip to raise funds and awareness of nerve condition Charcot Marie Tooth diseaseKarina Vaile, from Denvilles, will be doing a Boxing Day Dip to raise funds and awareness of nerve condition Charcot Marie Tooth disease
Karina Vaile, from Denvilles, will be doing a Boxing Day Dip to raise funds and awareness of nerve condition Charcot Marie Tooth disease

Hoping to raise awareness of her inherited neurological disease Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), Karina Vaile is braving the cold water on Hayling Island with help from her husband, Jason Wilgeroth.

The 44-year-old, who has had symptoms of the condition since she was a toddler, has been fundraising as much as she can this year in the hopes of finding a cure or treatment for CMT.

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CMT causes pain and exhaustion due to the damage caused to the nerves that transmit information from the brain and spinal cord to and from the rest of the body.

Karina Vaile, from Denvilles, will be doing a Boxing Day Dip to raise funds and awareness of nerve condition Charcot Marie Tooth diseaseKarina Vaile, from Denvilles, will be doing a Boxing Day Dip to raise funds and awareness of nerve condition Charcot Marie Tooth disease
Karina Vaile, from Denvilles, will be doing a Boxing Day Dip to raise funds and awareness of nerve condition Charcot Marie Tooth disease
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Mum-of-three Karina is motivated by her own experience of the condition, but also because her eldest daughter Kiann has been diagnosed with CMT.

Artist Karina, who will be going in the sea without a wetsuit, said: ‘It’s going to wipe me out and affect me but just to have support and raise awareness of CMT is important.

‘The research is really important to me because a lot of people don’t know they have got it until their symptoms start.

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‘All the funds I’m trying to get together are to keep the research going. I think it’ll be too late for me but it won’t be for Kiann.’

SEE ALSO: Free paintings from ‘inspirational’ artist cheer up NHS hospitals and care homes

Karina’s chosen charity is CMT Research Foundation, which is working on groundbreaking treatments and drug development which hopefully will be able to slow down the effects of CMT.

Working alongside the charity as an ambassador, Karina has been selling her artwork which she creates using her hands, fingers and mouth.

This included a silent auction for her painting of a rabbit to raise funds.

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Next year, daredevil Karina has said she would love to do a tandem skydive if she is able to.

Karina told The News: ‘I’m not really scared of anything, nothing really phases me. Because I have been in and out of hospital throughout my life, I don’t think about it.

‘If you don’t do something, then the chance passes you by and you will never get that again.’

Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Karina-Wilgeroth to donate towards Karina’s Boxing Day dip.

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Related topics:Hayling IslandNHS

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