Newlywed nurse from Lancaster braves the shave

A newlywed nurse from the Royal Lancaster Infirmary has shed her long locks and braved the shave in memory of her mum, dad and patients to raise £2,854 Macmillan Cancer Support.
Jodie Boldy with her plaits after she had her head shaved for charity.Jodie Boldy with her plaits after she had her head shaved for charity.
Jodie Boldy with her plaits after she had her head shaved for charity.

Jodie Boldy, from Low Bentham, who only married her husband Patrick Stapleton last month, aimed to make around £2,000 from her hair-raising fundraiser for Macmillan.

However, the 31-year-old oncology nurse has so far smashed her target by more than £854 to raise much-needed funds for the charity to support people living with cancer.

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Jodie, who has been a nurse for eight years, said: “I did this for my mum, dad and for all the lovely patients on the oncology unit where I work. I braved the shave to raise money for Macmillan who support a lot of my patients and also helped my family in the past.

“I lost my mum to cancer and my father also died suddenly and he had cancer at the time. So, if simply cutting off all my hair helps in just a small way then it’s worth it to support such a wonderful cause.”

Her head was shaved by one of her patients, who is also a hairdresser, on the oncology unit where Jodie works administering chemotherapy and other cancer treatments, as well as supporting patients.

Jodie’s hair has been donated to the Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs to children and young people with hair loss.

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Although having her head shaved for charity is a first for Jodie, the fearless fundraiser is no stranger to ‘derring-dos’! Last year she completed the marathon Macmillan Mighty Hike walk in Ullswater and has also taken part in sponsored skydives and bungee jumps for other charities in the past.

Jodie said: “I was a little nervous beforehand as I had thick hair down to my backside, so it was going to be a drastic change. I’m still getting used to it and sometimes I forget I’ve had it done, but I’ve actually had quite a lot of compliments.

“I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. We have managed to raise lots of sponsor money so far and it feels good to be able to make a difference to someone’s life.”

To support Jodie’s fundraising efforts go to: https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/jodie-boldy.

Macmillan’s Brave the Shave is now in its fifth year and thousands of fundraisers across the country will be taking the plunge and shaving their heads to raise vital funds for the cancer charity.