A courageous nurse has been named as this week’s charity champion after raising over £3,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, by going above and beyond for her young patients and shaving her head.

Rachel Mason, from Wednesbury, has been part of Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s Cochlear Implant Team for 10 years, and for the last five years has also been working on the Renal Ward, where she cares for children with kidney problems as they undergo dialysis treatment to filter and clean their blood.  Rachel has seen first-hand how difficult dialysis can be for the children as they sit still for hours at a time, attached to machines with lots of pipes and tubes. 

Whilst she knows the treatment they are receiving is second-to-none, it was seeing how the children and their families welcomed the distraction of the hospital’s fantastic play workers, who come and spend time with the kids and run activity sessions, that made Rachel determined to do even more for her patients, and raise money to help fund this additional support service.

After seeing a sponsored head-shave in her local supermarket, Rachel felt inspired and decided that even though it was extreme, she could do the same to raise money for her patients.  When the big day came around, Rachel felt the nerves setting in, but as soon as the clippers began to buzz and the first strands of her hair fell to the ground, her fears soon subsided.

  

Rachel said: “I’ve never liked being the centre of attention, so having the children and my colleagues gathered round me to watch was the most terrifying part of the head shave. People said I was brave to go through with it, but whilst it was being done, I looked around and was reminded exactly why I was – it’s our patients who are the brave ones!”

“I tried not to think about what I would look like with no hair, but it’s actually made me more confident and is certainly quicker getting ready in the mornings. I’m just really thankful to all my friends, colleagues and the families at our hospital, who have helped me to reach such a fantastic amount.”

Serena Daw, Public Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, commented: “Rachel already does such an amazing job providing essential care to the children at our hospital, but to go to such great lengths to do even more really is so incredible. Whether she thinks she’s brave or not, we’re certainly so proud of her! As Rachel intended, the money raised by shaving her head will help us make the hospital experience better for our sick kids.”