Hello!  

As you already know, I am having all of my hair cut off on Saturday July 6th 2013 in aid of Depression Alliance UK.  My wonderful hairdresser Lesley will be doing the honours, although I want to be the one to cut my ponytail off!

Depression Alliance UK is a charity which is very close to my heart.  I was bullied throughout secondary school and suffered from depression since the age of 15, but things got much worse for me at the age of around 17.

I was born with a polycystic kidney which could not function properly, and it resulted in it being removed when I was 8 months old.  Throughout my life I have suffered from problems related to my "waterworks" (as my mother likes to call it!) and have had more than my fair share of bladder and kidney infections.  I can't even begin to describe how painful these are.

When I was 17 I developed a condition called Interstitial Cystitis (but had being showing symptoms of this since the age of around 11), also known as Painful Bladder Syndrome.  Coping with this awful, debilitating illness has taken its toll on me, and my family, as well as my relationships with my friends.

Medical research has shown that a patient with Interstitial Cystitis has the quality of life comparable to that of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic cancer pain, or a patient on kidney dialysis. 

I have met dozens of young women just like me through Instagram, who suffer from I.C too, (search the hashtag #ICwarriors to see our posts!)  We inspire each other, support each other and give each other the strength to carry on with our lives as best we can.  

I can say with confidence that pretty much all of us struggle with depression as a result of coping with chronic pain - and this is why I want to raise money for Depression Alliance UK.  I respect and admire the hard work they do to help people just like me, and my I.C sisters, and probably some of you reading this.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate whatever you can, every penny counts - and pennies make pounds!  Thank you :) xoxo