Beard Today, Gone Tomorrow

6 Kingdom Group employees brave the shave for charity!!! 

Mike Hargreaves, Chris Richardson, Paul Hannah, Matthew Duncan, Kevin Stone and Garry Tolson will all shave their very impressive beards off on Wednesday 31 July 2024 in aid of PIP-UK Poland Syndrome Support and Network (Scotland Branch).

Why are we braving the shave? 

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this incredible little lady, Kodi. 

Kodi is Mike's Granddaughter and was unfortunately diagnosed with Poland Syndrome at birth. As a result, this affected her left hand arm and pectoral. To date, Kodi has undergone surgery to separate her fingers from webbing, however will require further surgeries and eventually much later in her childhood, a surgery to replace the missing muscle in her chest. 

However, don’t let this fool you!!! Despite all of this, Kodi is as wild as any other 2 year old and has the cheekiest smile ever (as you can all tell from her photo Mike kindly shared with us). Kodi has recently started rugby tots which she absolutely loves.  She’s a determined little lady and is not letting her disability stop her in her path. 

Some of you may ask - What is Poland Syndrome (PS)? 

Poland Syndrome is an asymmetrical syndrome in that it affects one side of the body. The main aspect of Poland Syndrome is an absent chest muscle on one side. Although this can extend to under developed rib cage (on one side) and webbed fingers (or missing digits) on one hand.  The degree of severity of Poland Syndrome and it’s symptoms differs between people but thankfully for the majority of people it is not life threatening. Poland Syndrome is often not diagnosed at all.

There are no specialist doctors for PS, so for our community this means diagnosis and treatment is difficult. As a result, parents are often accused of mistreating a child when shoulders are hypermobile, teenagers go through years of torment, and adults live with debilitating mental health issues due to a lifetime of hiding their bodies. 

PIP-UK Poland Syndrome Support and Network (Scotland Branch)'s work is about supporting this marginalised community and for them to be treated equally against other disabilities.

To find out more about the condition, please click here.

How can you help us reach our goal?

Poland Syndrome is a rare condition and the causes of this are unfortunately unknown. At PIP-UK, they are working hard to support people diagnosed with and their families with 121 advice, advocacy, NHS referrals, appeals & connecting the community via our events & groups. They are lucky to have secured several key grants over the last couple of years, but the reality is, to maintain their current trajectory to make forever change for Poland Syndrome, they need our help!

Help us reach our goal of not only raising awareness of this rare condition but also in bringing the community together to help support the families affected. 

Anything you can contribute towards helping us achieve our target will be massively appreciated. 

Thank you in advance for your kind donations on behalf of Mike, Chris, Paul, Matthew, Kevin and Garry.