Jennifer Stables has had a nightmare year after being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, and has shaved her head to raise awareness and money for research into the condition.

The 25 year-olld, a third-year University of Queensland School of Biomedical Sciences’ student, was diagnosed with the rare disorder in October 2013. The diagnosis cruelly arrived just two years after she discovered she had fibromyalgia – a syndrome that causes muscle pain.

Jennifer told the Reporter: “I have been battling my body for a while.

“My family and I moved to Australia in part, for my mum’s health. She has the same autoimmune disease as me, and the warmer weather is much better for our joints. We both experience joint and muscle pain, which is made worse by the cold weather.” Jennifer describes herself as a positive person but laughs off any any suggestion of bravery.

She said: “One of the medications that is approved for treating the condition has been causing my hair to fall out. It was really frustrating, my hair was covering everything. So I decided to find the silver lining. By cutting off my ponytail, I could donate it to make wigs for people who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy etc, and I thought I might be able to raise some money if I shaved of the rest.

“I think that I was more nervous when it was still just an idea. Once I started telling people and it became more real, and I had their encouragement, I was surprisingly okay about it. My friends and family were surprised how calm I was when I actually had it done, but it is only hair, and it will grow back eventually. It has actually been rather nice, as we are in the middle of a very hot and humid summer, so I am appreciating being able to feel the breeze on my head.” Jennifer, who left Balloch in 2008, says living with the disease had made study more difficult but she had managed an exchange to America during first semester this year.

She said: “Having this disease has certainly taught me to look for life’s silver linings and to adjust my expectations of myself.

“I have always been very driven and now I am even more so – I want to prove that I can do it all anyway, even though I have to accept that sometimes I can’t.” Ms Stables is majoring in neuroscience and anatomy after doing an anatomy subject while studying toward an Associate of Fine Arts (Dance).

“I think that my understanding of biomedical science has helped, but unfortunately Behcet’s Disease is not very well understood, so I actually find it quite frustrating that I can’t find out the nitty gritty detail of what has gone wrong. I have always found the human body fascinating and after doing the anatomy elective I decided that I really wanted to pursue my new-found love of anatomy.” “I need to go hat shopping a lot more because the medications I’m on make me much more susceptible to cancer, but when I’m not in the sun I’ll be wearing my new bare look with pride.” Jennifer is still raising money and you can donate at www.justgiving.com/Jennifer-Stables