Having a close shave at work is something you’d normally avoid, as is having strips torn off you by colleagues, but eleven brave employees are throwing caution to the wind and doing both for charity.
Roy Nimmo, Stuart Lennie, Dave Morton, Kenny McNeill, Graham MacDonald and Susan Gilbert will have their heads shaved at Sealock to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support on September 27th.
Director of Children’s Services, Robert Naylor, Gary Greenhorn, Mark Meechan, Paul Wilcox and Adrian Moodie will also let colleagues pull strips of wax off their legs in return for a donation on the day.
So far Team Sealock’s ‘Brave the Shave & Wax’ has raised nearly £1000 through its JustGiving page.
The fundraising event has been organised by Roy Nimmo, Asset Officer, who returned to work earlier this year after undergoing treatment for Stage 3 Nasal Cancer.
The 43-year-old father-of-two had initially gone to his doctor in January last year after losing hearing in one ear. Months later he underwent surgery to place a grommet in his ear that ultimately led to his diagnosis.
He said: “When I came round from the operation they told me they’d found a lump at the back of my nasal passage and had taken a biopsy. A week later the consultant called wanting to see me urgently and I started to think the worst. When I got to the appointment I remember ‘The Final Countdown’ was playing on the radio and then I heard the words ‘you have inoperable cancer’. I felt numb and sick and blacked out.”
Following scans Roy was told his cancer hadn’t spread but that it had started to eat through the base of his skull. What followed? Almost four months of intensive treatment – five rounds of chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiotherapy - that started on October 2nd.
“After my first chemo I felt fine but I quickly went downhill. There were times when I felt physically broken and I did wonder if I was going to survive. After radiotherapy I was bed bound. I lost two stone of mostly muscle. Recovery is a slow process.”
On April 4th he started a six-week phased return to work. Although exhausted, he wanted to return “was I physically ready? No, but I needed to. It helped improve my mental health. I was going stir crazy at home”.
Roy has had one clear biopsy result but won’t be clear of cancer for another five years and treatment has left him with limited taste buds, significantly reduced saliva, tinnitus, permanent pins and needles in his fingers and toes, chest pain and tension headaches but he is alive and grateful for that fact.
“I’ve learnt I am stronger than I thought I was and that family is there for you no matter what. I cannot thank my colleagues enough for their support, bringing me food and always checking-in on me. I am still apprehensive when it comes to planning for the future, and I do worry about how my cancer has affected my kids, but I know what I want out of life - I want to grow old with my wife and see my children have kids.”
Pictured: Some members of Team Sealock (left to right) Robert Naylor, Graham MacDonald, Susan Gilbert, Dave Morton, Roy Nimmo and Gary Greenhorn.