By Gabrielle Swan
A BANGOR woman has raised over £3,000 after ‘braving the shave’ for Macmillan Cancer last weekend, having been inspired by a close friend who survived the illness.
Saying goodbye to her locks at Brompton before a sea-swim with her group, the Lockdown Dippers, was Ulster Hospital nurse Elizabeth Craig-Johnston.
Elizabeth raised £3,800 for Macmillan Cancer Support, with the charity keeping the fundraising page open indefinitely for donors.
The Bangor woman took part in the charity’s ‘Brave the Shave’ fundraising challenge, after being inspired by her close friend, Trish, a cancer survivor and fellow member of the Lockdown Dippers.
The shave itself took place on the shores of the Brompton on Sunday 11, the tenth anniversary of Trish’s diagnosis.
Though Elizabeth largely drew inspiration from her close friend, she also spoke of being driven by the cancer patients she cares for at the Ulster Hospital, where she works as an anaesthetic nurse.
The local nurse aims to raise the profile of the charity, which receives around 98% of its funding through public fundraisers like her own.
Speaking before the event, Elizabeth revealed that she was not too nervous for the shave, stating that her hair will ‘grow back eventually’.
“I have never done this before, I am doing it for a lot of reasons,” said Elizabeth. “The day that I have chosen to do it on is my friend’s ten-year anniversary of being diagnosed. She is cancer free now.
“I am an anaesthetic nurse up in the Ulster Hospital, so in theatre we see patients all the time coming in for horrendous operations for cancer. I just wanted to do something for them as well to support Macmillan.
“Patients are going through so much, and it is such a big thing, to go through all of that and lose hair.”
Speaking after the head shave on Sunday, Elizabeth said she enjoys her new bold look, and rejoiced at all of the support she received through the many donations.
“It was fantastic, it was great. I actually quite liked it. I wasn’t worried about losing my hair anyway, it was my own choice to do it,” said the Bangor woman.
“There were a few other people there to shave my head as well, they did bits of it, including my friend’s granddaughter, she did a piece as well. But, my friend Trish did the most of it.
“I didn’t know what to expect, a lot of people donated. Macmillan are keeping the page open indefinitely for more donations to come through,” added the local nurse.
Additional donations to Elizabeth’s Macmillan page can be made at: bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/ba17ced6-7561-4b24-a0e3-08ac64880e35.
