'Bald is strong': 4th-grader with cancer throws head-shaving party
A nine-year-old girl faced her upcoming chemotherapy treatments head on when she decided to shave off her hair, so she wouldn’t have to go through the often traumatic experience of losing it slowly.
Heaven Westmorland, a fourth-grader diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, decided to throw a head shaving party at Norton Children’s Hospital in Kentucky.
The young girl was all smiles at the party, where she even got to buzz her mom’s hair, who participated to support her daughter. When asked how her mom looked after, Heaven said excitedly, “You actually look pretty good.”
When it was her own turn to shave off her hair, Heaven admitted, “I’m nervous but also, like, excited.”
She felt that shaving off her hair was the better option over watching it possibly fall out due to chemotherapy. “I’d probably cry,” she explained to WDRB.
Along with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend shaving their heads, other friends and family turned up to the event to show their support. There, they listened to Heaven’s favorite music and ate her favorite foods. There was even a disco ball and a poster that read, “Bald is strong.”
Heaven had her father hold the mirror after having her hair shaved off. She was asked if she was “ready for the big reveal,” and she gave her dad the countdown. “Dad, one, two, three!” before he turned the mirror to face her.
The young girls’ first reaction to her new look was laughter, and then, “I love it!”
After the hair shaving was finished, Heaven tried on some wigs to find her new look. She plans to donate her own locks.
For other kids who may be going through the same battle as Heaven, she offers some advice: “Stay strong, never give up and achieve your goals.”
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