Rapper says outdoor marathon to collect coats for kids had permanent health impact.

Lexington hip-hop artist Devine Carama performed in Courthouse Plaza for 48 hours from Dec. 6-8 to encourage donations of coats for needy children in Lexington and eastern Kentucky.

On Monday, as he prepared to distribute the final coats, he says he got word that his 48-hour marathon had long-lasting consequences for him: His doctor told him that two of the toes on his right foot had suffered permanent nerve damage from the cold. Carama had only taken bathroom breaks in the courthouse during the marathon, he said Monday, and his feet had gone numb.

“It’s not going to get any worse,” Carama said of the big toe and adjoining toe. “They’ll just always have numb spots.”

Carama had performed once every hour for 48 hours at the December marathon, which started at 7 a.m. Dec. 6. While highs were in the 40s those days, lows dipped well into the 20s each night. The artist also performed a 24-hour marathon in November, but he said it was warmer then.

“I wouldn’t do it again, this is one of those one-time things that I prayed about,” Carama said.

His efforts helped get 2,650 coats out of a 2,800-coat goal.

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Rapper says outdoor marathon to collect coats for kids had permanent health impact.."