A Sidbury father-of-two has raised more than £2,000 by shaving off his beard in aid of the unit that is helping his wheelchair-bound daughter walk again.
Robbie Drew grew his facial hair for five months to support the Royal Devon and Exeter Hosptial’s Mardon Neurological Centre, where his youngest child Zoe is undergoing intensive rehabilitation treatment.
Zoe suffered a life-changing illness in 2014 which left her wheelchair-bound and unable to bend her knees.
On Wednesday, the 52-year-old presented a cheque to staff for £2,030 to thank them for helping his daughter.
Robbie said: “It’s lovely to be clean shaven. Everybody has been incredibly supportive and generous.
“It was an opportunity for me to give something back to all those helping Zoe in her much time of need.”
His wife Clare added: “Zoe texted her dad on the day of the shave off saying, ‘I’m so proud to call you my dad. What an astonishing amount of money’.”
“We would both like to say a massive thank-you to all our fabulous friends and family for their help, support, kindness and generosity.”
Lynne Forster, matron at the Mardon Neurological Rehabilitation Centre, thanked Robbie for the ‘generous amount’ and also providing turkeys for the patients’ Christmas lunch.
She said: “The money donated to the league of friends is vital and used to purchase pieces of specialist equipment, monthly take-away meals and goal-orientated trips to local attractions, where patients can take time out, interact with people in a more normal environment, and learn money management and mobility outside hospital.”
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