Six-year-old Olivia Gooding getting ‘the chop for FOP’

Olivia Gooding

Six-year-old Olivia Gooding of Wardle is aiming to raise £500 pounds for FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva) with a fundraising haircut on Saturday 8 October at The Hideout on Whitworth Road.

She will be donating her hair to The Little Princess Trust, a charity that creates wigs for patients with cancer.

Any funds raised will go towards Oxford Research into a cure for FOP as close family friend, Rachel Winnard, from Rochdale was born with the condition.

Mrs Winnard, 32, of Meanwood, said: “It’s absolutely amazing that a six-year-old would do something so selfless.

“I couldn’t believe it when Melissa, Olivia’s mum, rang to tell me.

“It’s not a very well-known condition and I hope this raises awareness of it.”

Mrs Winnard was diagnosed with the condition when she was 12-years-old and has restricted movement in her neck, hip, shoulder and jaw.

FOP is an extremely rare and disabling genetic condition that causes a second skeleton in the body. Muscles and connective tissues like tendons and ligaments gradually turn to bone and progressively restrict a person’s movement.

Just 700 cases are known worldwide.

To donate, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/2p83v4c