Bindi’s big shave

AFTER being air-lifted to hospital due to a terrifying fall from her horse in 2011, Bindi Lawtey’s life took an unexpected turn.
Never did doctors assume that upon conducting a routine MRI, they would discover the teen had been living with a life threatening brain condition.
Bindi had what is known as chiari malformation, a condition where the brain descends into the spine, effectively growing downward and into the back of the patient.
It was merely by default that Bindi had this MRI, and if it wasn’t for her accident, there’s a chance she may never have had it.
The surgery to cure this condition was deemed elective, forcing Bindi to wait nearly a year for it to be done.
As the year progressed, so too did Bindi’s illness, with the 18-year-old admitting she started to feel scared the longer it was being left.
Eventually, the day came for the surgery, but the aftermath of the long-awaited operation was a difficult process that neither Bindi nor the professionals could have predicted.
Bindi was home for five days after the surgery when another issue arose and she was rushed back to hospital with aseptic meningitis.
After recovering from this, Bindi was then home for four days before she was diagnosed with pseudomeningocele – a condition which meant the Narre Warren resident was forced to remove more of her hair.
Having endured many hospital visits, as well as huge exposure to a number of other sick children, Bindi decided that, despite her own illness, she wanted to do something to help people worse off than her.
After her third stay in hospital, she decided she would do the World’s Greatest Shave.
The Narre Warren resident said spending time in a room with a young boy who had been a cancer patient for three years really influenced her decision.
“Yeah I am suffering a little bit, but these people are suffering more, so why not help them?” she said.
Once her decision was made, Bindi started fundraising at the hospital, taking her tin box throughout the wards and she was overwhelmed by the support she received.
Her mother Leanne was very impressed with her daughter’s decision.
“I think it’s awesome – she could’ve shaved it off and not done anything but you wanted to help other people,” the proud mum said.
Bindi will be shaving her hair on Saturday 15 March at Coles North Berwick, at Parkhill Shopping Centre and is excited for the event.
“I am looking forward to it,” the Berwick Secondary student said.