An inspiring 11-year-old girl has given up her luscious locks to raise over £420 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, after receiving multiple operations on her head and skull.

Georgia Carlin, from Nottingham, braved the chop to donate 13 inches of her long, blonde hair to a charity that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair and, in the process, got sponsored to raise money to give back to the hospital that has cared for her for most of her life.

Georgia was born with Craniosynostosis, where the bones that make up your skull fuse too soon. This meant Georgia’s brain was under pressure and didn’t have enough room to grow. At three-months-old, Georgia was referred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital to confirm her local hospital’s diagnosis, but while she was there, doctors also discovered she had two more conditions that came hand in hand with Craniosynostosis: Crouzon Syndrome, that affects the shape of her face and Chiari Malformation, which can affect balance.

At 10-months-old, Georgia underwent her first operation. After making an incision in Georgia’s skull, doctors fitted pins and rods, which her mum, Gail, would need to turn twice-daily to slowly expand it and make space for Georgia’s brain to keep growing. The operation was a success, but two years later, the pressure began to build again in Georgia’s head. This time, Georgia needed a more invasive operation which saw her surgeon take her skull apart and reassemble it like a jigsaw to allow it to grow with more space for her brain.

Both operations meant that Georgia’s head had to be shaved and when her hair grew back, it was thicker, longer and more luscious than ever. Almost 10 years later, with a much clearer understanding of her conditions and all the ways the doctors and nurses on the Craniofacial team at Birmingham Children’s Hospital have helped Georgia, she decided she wanted to use her hair to give back.

As Georgia got ready to say goodbye to her long locks, she asked her friends and family to sponsor her and help raise as much as she could for the hospital. Then, it was time to face the chop and Georgia’s hairdresser cut 13 inches of hair for her to donate, leaving her with a gorgeous new shoulder length do.

Georgia’s mum, Gail, said: “Georgia has been in and out of Birmingham Children’s Hospital for operations and check ups all her life and now she’s older, she’s realised how special a place it is. Her hair grows so fast, and when she decided she wanted it cut she thought she may as well use it for good and say thank you to the hospital, as well as helping other children elsewhere by donating her hair.

“Georgia may need more surgery when she’s older to help reconstruct her face, but she’s come such a long way since those first diagnoses and I’m so proud of her, especially for wanting to help other children.”

Miranda Williams, Head of Public Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “After facing so much herself it’s heart-warming to see one of our brave patients doing something so selfless to help others.

“The funds Georgia raised with her big chop will go towards helping our Craniofacial team do more for sick kids just like her.”