There was surprises and goodwill galore on Saturday as over €10,000 was raised during a charity headshave at Anne O’Gorman’s hair salon in Ballybofey.
The fundraiser for Beaumont Hospital was led by Natalia Marchlewska as she prepares for a life-changing brain surgery for epilepsy.
Natalia, 28, has lived with epilepsy since 2015 and wanted to play her part in improving the services and patient care in the Neurology and Neurosurgery Departments at Beaumont Hospital.
Natalia wasn’t alone in the ‘hair-razing’ challenge but she bravely volunteered to be the first to go under Anne O’Gorman’s expert shears.
Natalia before her shave
Natalia’s shave by Anne O’Gorman
Natalia is showered in balloons after her charity headshave
Natalia’s partner James Britton from Donegal Town and six other friends volunteered for the challenge – with a few just holding onto their beards! They were Marcel Sobczak, Aaron Morrow, Manuel Bruch, Eden Souza, Aaryn McCullagh and Piotr Papież.
Even those unable to attend in person couldn’t resist showing support. Natalia’s friends shaved their heads online, namely Coryn McCullagh, James Molloy, Federico Cerrone and also her Grandpa in Poland, Zbigniew Szarek.
The men who supported Natalia’s headshave show off their new looks!
It was a day of mixed emotions as the community came together to support Natalia and friends. Family fun activities and musical performances kept the lively atmosphere buzzing.
It was also an important day for epilepsy awareness. Natalia’s epilepsy diagnosis in her first year at Maynooth University has had a profound impact on her life.
After trying many different treatments it has finally come to a point where brain surgery is her only chance at having a seizure free life.
“Epilepsy impacts every aspect of my life in ways you may not even think about. There are days where I can’t even make myself a cup of tea without the fear of a seizure,” she said.
Natalia, who is of Polish descent, lived in Ballybofey before moving to Dublin after college and has been working for a pharmaceutical company in the city since then.
Despite her condition, Natalia maintains a positive outlook.
“Seizures can happen at any moment, causing me to live life with constant fear. Despite that, I try to stay positive and hopeful that I can someday make that cup of tea without having to worry about seizures!” she said.
Speaking after the headshave, Natalia issued “a huge thanks to everyone who showed up on the day, all the businesses who contributed prizes to the raffle and who were involved on the day, my family and all my friends who were there in person and those who were watching online, especially those who shaved their heads in solidarity!
“All the musicians – DJ Gamble for kicking off and being the MC of the party, then the Rodney Deery and family and Sinead Black for their wonderful voices and huge talent.
“And most of all Anne, Amber and the rest of her wonderful team at Hair by Anne O Gorman for making it all happen. I’m still in shock and can’t quite believe it all actually happened. I’m overwhelmed with the support and kindness of all people from the community. I’ll be forever grateful for everything and cannot thank them all enough.”
In total, over €5,200 was raised from the event and raffle, with Natalia raising a further €6,300 online.
Anne O’Gorman’s hair salon is still accepting donations in salon this week or people can donate here: https://beaumontfundraising.enthuse.com/pf/natalia-marchlewska
See more photos here:
Natalia and James
