Grahame joining Bald Angels sponsorship for Summer of the Mullet

"Yeeehaa! 

It’s the Summer of the Mullet  
so it’s about to get very hairy around here"

My name is Dr Grahame Jelley and I have been writing a blog about my journey through treatment for Stage 3 B lung cancer .  I am Zimbabwe born but have been living in New Zealand for 20 years and always worked as a rural General Practitioner . I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2009 and had chemotherapy treatment for 3 months in Tauranga. I had been in remission for almost exactly 10 years when I had a further diagnosis of a new and different cancer of the lung at the beginning of August 2019.  I have been in Auckland for seven weeks since beginning of December receiving daily radiotherapy Monday to Friday and two sessions of chemotherapy . I completed my radiotherapy on 13 th January 2020.

Whilst I was under treatment for my lung cancer in Auckland I became aware that the Charity “Bald Angels”, based in my home town of Kerikeri, Northland , New Zealand, was embarking on a new fundraising effort. I had previously been one of the 462 people who shaved their heads in a Guinness Book of Records event run by "Bald Angels.A massive event in 2015 saw 462 heads shaved in one hour, raising over $65 thousand for Bald Angels Charitable Trust. https://www.baldangels.org.nz/big-head-shave-2015-gallery/

I saw that the focus of the fundraising was for young people who would benefit from mentoring to give them an opportunity to succeed when otherwise they were finding themselves challenged. I work with a rural community in Northland where disparities in physical  health outcomes, as well as other social determinants of health, continue to exist unnecessarily. I saw this as an opportunity to contribute more personally.

 I had  lost all my hair, for a second time, as a result of the chemotherapy. A close friend had provided me with two hats as part of a care package. One hat for my “bad hair” days and one for “good hair" days. This led on to a desire to bring humour into my daily journey throughout my treatment. As a result, I tried to wear a different and novel hat for each subsequent day of therapy.

“Bad hair” day wig

“Good hair” day wig 

“The Joker”

“Hippy”

                                                          

Masquerade as a “Kiwi”                                                                                                             "Back to front"

"

Sailor man”

Dr "Do Little"

National Geographic 

Last radiation and ready for “holiday break”

In  keeping with this approach when I became aware of the 

“Yeeehaaa - Summer of the Mullet” project, I felt it may generate some Sponsorship interest if I went from “chemo bald” to a mullet.

"Chemo Bald "

Photoshop to imagine possible result

So here we are  involved in this amazing “Kaupapa” raising money to give these kids a chance . I made contact with Thérèse and arranged to meet thinking I would just be offering my sponsorship opportunity. I found there were also some additional opportunities, to use my knowledge of rural medicine and my work as a clinical leader for our local funding agency, to contribute further.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to “give back” to a community and a country that has welcomed my extended Whanau/ family and provided us a new country and home when we felt we had to leave our own behind us.


What is “Summer of the Mullet” Fundraising for? - 

KiwiMANA Kaiārahi programme is about matching  mentors to young people so that they have that critical support to help with good choice making supporting the four cornerstones of wellness,: mental/emotional, Physical, Spiritual and Social. 
"Te Whare Tapa Wha" 
https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/healthy-living/t/te-whare-tapa-wh%C4%81-and-wellbeing/

More info on Bald Angels and the fund raising project can be found by following the links below .

https://www.baldangels.org.nz/summerofthemullet/

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/jack-goodhue-his-mullet-will-make-a-difference