Hair shave for charity is Carronshore woman's birthday party surprise

Surprised guests watched as Jenny sheared her brunette tresses to raise much needed funds for the Brain Tumour Charity.

Jenny, from Carronshore, had surgery in June this year to remove a growth in her brain stem.

The operation was a success, however the following day she suffered a stroke and had to learn to walk again.

“It has been a bit of a rollercoaster few months, to say the least,” the Scottish Power employee said. “I attended Forth Valley Hospital in February after the having seizures and an MRI confirmed the tumour.

“When they told me I was shocked – it was a lot to take in. I was transferred to the Western General in Edinburgh and was told the operation to remove the tumour would be a very complicated procedure because the tumour was in my brain stem which connects the main blood supply.

Jenny’s surgery took place in June, lasting six hours. When she woke up doctors told her they had successfully removed 95 per cent of the tumour.

“It was the best possible outcome and I was so relieved it was over,” she said.

“Unfortunately the day after the op I suffered a stroke and had hemiparesthesia down my left side and had to learn to walk again.”

Five months on, thanks to physiotherapy and her own determination, Girl Guide leader Jenny is recovering well and even hopes to return to her work in December.

“It’s so surreal looking back,” she reflects. “I’m feeling stronger each day although I have been left with some problems with my sight.”

To mark her recovery Jenny has had a zipper tattoo at the bottom of her scar – her 13th tattoo to date.

“I also want to get a grey ribbon to represent brain tumour awareness. The head shave was a way of giving something back. I had very, very long hair but my hair does not define me and I will be donating it to the Little Princess Trust. I decided to keep it a secret from my party guests to make it more poignant and everyone was so generous on the night.”

Jenny’s head-shave raised £1636 in total, which will be split between the Brain Tumour Charity, Ward 33 at Western General Hospital and NHS Forth Valley rehabilitation physiotherapy department.