Meet our fundraiser of the month

Our fundraiser of the month Gill took the plunge and had her head shaved to raise funds to help everyone living with MS 

I chose to shave my head as I thought it was the most personal thing I could do. Unlike a sponsored walk or something this is much more visual, and all my friends and family know I love my hair. I have had long hair since i was 13 years old so nearly 50 years.  I have so many products and tools I could open a salon! 

 My mother was beautiful. Inside and out. I remember when I was small a lot of shouting and tears and my brother and me were sent away to the seaside for a couple of weeks. This was when Mam found out she had MS. When we came home, there was no shouting, no tears and we were just told Mam was not well and to be very kind. 

Within a very short time Mam was in a wheelchair and to be honest I can’t remember her standing again. We helped with housework before school and were a happy family. My brother played tricks on my Dad all the time just to make her laugh. We loved to hear her laughter. We loved picnics and Sunday afternoons playing board games. I was in the choir and Mam came to the shows, always having a front-row seat. She said she felt like the Queen of Sheba the way she was just pushed down the aisle straight to the front. 

When she had been younger she too had been in the choir and often sang Nymphs and Shepherds to us as well as Little White Bull. Such a lovely voice. Then it seemed like one day overnight she could no longer talk. Her friends stopped coming round as she could not converse, but she would have been happy just to listen to them. It was so very sad.  

When I was a teen I stayed out later than I should and got into trouble. I stamped and shouted and slammed doors for being told off. The next morning, I apologised for my behaviour and my Mam was smiling. She said she was happy that I was a normal teenager as that meant she had done a good job! 

 She did more than a good job. She was exemplary. 

 I lost her when I was 24 and it broke my heart. I think of her every day. She was so serene and beautiful. 

I chose MS-UK as this charity would have been such a help to her mental wellness. 

Back in the 1970s and 80s all Mam had for support was a disabled group that got together every fortnight to share experiences. Hardly anyone knew about MS and there was very little literature on it. Now it is much more high profile and charities like MS-UK should get the recognition they so richly deserve.