Jessica Riggs, a 32-year-old woman from Saltash, Cornwall, has approached raising money for her treatment through an innovative fundraising project. Diagnosed with Neuro-Cranio-Vertebral Syndrome-Filum, a disease which could cause paralysis in the future, Riggs and 16 of her friends posed nude in a calendar to raise the necessary $32,000 for their treatment in Spain.
Riggs’ condition sees the fibrous tissue adjacent to her spinal cord too tight, leading to agonizing symptoms. She manifested these symptoms at 22 and has been receiving some treatment through the NHS system, but no cause could be identified. The pain gradually worsened, leaving Riggs unemployed as a marine biologist and polar expedition guide.
Inspired by the comedy-drama film ‘Calendar Girls’, Riggs and her friends created the calendar to empower women and raise awareness for her cause. She shared, “My friend said to me ‘Jess we love being naked’. I am always at the beach skinny dipping.” Through this project, she hoped to “empower women and make other women feel liberated — I just enjoyed being one with nature.”
The calendar has been quite a success, selling more than 400 copies on both the internet and the shops. Riggs had managed to raise about $28,000, and with several people, including complete strangers, expressing support. Upon musing over the benevolence of others, she said, “It is amazing how strangers are so charitable.”
Riggs is to undergo surgery in Barcelona on January 16, 2025. She underscored the need to be one’s own advocate: “My disease is hidden. If you met me in person you would think there was nothing wrong with me. It is important to advocate for yourself – you know your body more than anyone else.”
