FRIENDS and well-wishers rallied to raise more than £6,500 in support of Halesowen teenager Grace Kalinski who was paralysed from the neck down following a devastating bout of meningitis.

The fundraising gig and sponsored head shave by a family friend was a sell-out at The River Rooms, Stourbridge, last Thursday.

And it was an emotional event as Grace watched the event online via Face Time from her hospital bed in Southport, where she is battling to recover after being struck down by the disease in February.

Mum Debbie, who attended the fundraiser while dad Jan was at Grace’s bedside, said it had been an “overwhelming” occasion for the family.

She said it was a “very emotional” experience to see the picture of Grace in the room, around 340 people who turned out for the event and the huge number of items collected from Halesowen shops for the raffle and auction.

Popular band The Commandments performed along with X Factor star Kriss Marco while Susan Batty, wife of the group’s vocalist Alan Batty, had her head shaved.

Mrs Kalinski described her friend as “extremely brave” for going through with the challenge.

But the 65-year-old cancer survivor, of Blackberry Lane, was grateful to have the choice of whether to lose her hair after the effects of chemotherapy several years ago.

She added: “It was a fabulous night. I am thrilled to bits with the amount of money raised – which is still coming in – it was a joint effort and everyone worked so hard – we just wanted Grace to know we care.”

Grace, who had just started as a trainee nursery nurse at Squiggles Nursery, Hagley, when she contracted bacterial meningitis, will decide where the money is to go.

Friends have also donated £900 to the Meningitis Trust from bucket collections at Halesowen Football Club and at the town’s Asda store.

The former Halesowen College student marked her 19th birthday at the spinal injuries rehabilitation unit at Southport District General Hospital on Saturday, surrounded by her family with cards and balloons from those who love her.

Mrs Batty and other family friends are planning more fundraising events for Grace, who is unable to breathe without the aid of a ventilator and is being fed through a “peg” in her stomach.

The feisty teenager is waiting for an X-ray to see if her swallowing ability has improved sufficiently top start taking food by mouth.

Mr and Mrs Kalinski are desperate to get their daughter home and will care for Grace in their dining room when she is released from hospital, ahead of the conversion of their garage into an apartment for her.