A couple living in Abbots Langley will be raising awareness for a children’s hospice close to their hearts this August by shaving the hospice’s logo into the side of their heads.

College Road residents Lynsey Austin, 31 and her husband Ben, 26, will be doing the head shave on August 14 for Julia’s House Children’s Hospice, which is based in Dorset, after hearing how a family they know benefited from the hospice’s services.

The family the couple know have a five-year-old grandson named Cameron, who was born with a condition called posterior urethral valves - which occurs in boys and is due to a blockage in the urethra or the tube leading from the bladder to outside - and he is now a member of the hospice.

Mrs Austin said: "We’ve known Rosemary and Paul, Cameron’s grandparents for eight years, as they attend the same church as us (St Thomas’s Church in West Hyde), and we grew to learn Cameron was a poorly baby."

"Cameron was diagnosed with this before his birth and it made his body basically fill up with fluid because it couldn’t be passed out of his body," added Mrs Austin.

"This crushed all his organs, damaging some of them.

"Cameron had very little kidney function because of it and his bladder was badly damaged. He has dislocated hips among other problems.

"At the age of three Cameron had a kidney transplant which was donated by his dad because Cameron’s bladder was so badly damaged, but he was unable to empty it properly resulting in urine being left in his bladder and then fluxing back into his new kidney, again causing damage."

Last June, the day before Cameron’s fifth birthday, he had an operation to try and repair his bladder.

"This was a huge operation where they used part of his intestines, bowel and even his appendix to repair the bladder, and they made a permanent catheter for him called mitroflanot," said Mrs Austin.

"Cameron has had more operations, serious infections, septicaemia twice and stays in hospital more times than his nan can count.

"Cameron needs 24 hour care and has a vast round the clock medication plan, some of which is administered through a gastronomy tube straight into his tummy.

"He has some mobility issues because of his hips, but basically Cameron can’t be left with just anyone. They have to be trained to deal with his complex needs. "

Cameron now goes to Julia’s House hospice and receives care there and at home.

Mrs Austin said: "I think that the people who run it and work there do an amazing, wonderful job/ "They get no funding from the government as 94 per cent is down to people’s hard work and to raise awareness of the charity.

"This is why Ben and I are doing the head shave in August.

"Cameron, to us, is a little fighter and has been through so much in his very short life. "

Mrs and Mr Austin are taking donations for their head shave on Just Giving. To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/Lynsey-Austin1