Woman’s 5,200-mile voyage to mark anniversary of transplant
A WOMAN born with a hole in the heart is to take on an adventure of a lifetime.
Sailor Tineke Dixon, 46, has battled serious health problems, undergoing multiple transplants, and is joining a 46-day tall ship expedition in the Southern Hemisphere.
She spent much of her childhood battling severe illness and relied on the use of a wheelchair with doctors unable to help her.
With medical advancement Ms Dixon underwent a heart and lung transplant in 1988 and ten years later underwent a kidney transplant, which was donated by her mother. Since then she has made the most of her muchimproved health and developed a passion for sailing as well as spending time helping charities close to her heart.
Ms Dixon, from Exmouth, Devon, works as a programme manager for the South West Ambulance Service Foundation Trust.
She said: “I used to be quite an adventurous person but sometimes the more mundane things in life take over.
“With the 30-year anniversary since my first transplant on the horizon I felt a bit of wanderlust setting in. With my love of sailing and desire to help the charities who helped me so much I felt the need to reaffirm a few things and go completely overboard.” Ms Dixon will be sailing on
Tenacious, the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s tall ship, and will travel 5,200 nautical miles over 46 days after leaving Auckland on January 11.
She is hoping to raise £5,200 – a pound for every nautical mile of the trip – for three charities. They are Heartline, The Somerville Foundation and Papworth Hospital Charity.