The first thing was that after being diagnosed at the age of six and spending 18 months in treatment, she celebrated a remission - for 3 ½ years. 3 ½ years of getting to be a child again – then she relapsed. I sat and thought about that for a bit. How many different emotions did not only she go through at that point but also her parents.
The second thing that struck me was that it seems that her page has not been updated in a while. Her age states she is 16 but her paragraph states she is in 7th grade. Wondering if she missed so much school or is her page dated? I couldn’t help but wonder what is going on with her today. Is she in remission again? Is she in treatment? I began to think that I would bypass Allison and continue on to a child whose page seemed to be current.
And then I read the last sentence.
“Bald is beautiful.”
And I really looked at her picture.
There she was - her innocence and her smile, her sincerity and her gorgeous head. Eyes that have seen way too much for her age staring back at me – my heart melted and my decision was made.
It doesn’t matter how up-to-date Allison’s page is –
I am shaving in honor of this beautiful little bald girl.
It wasn’t until I went to click off of Allison’s page that I noticed that she was treated at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tuft’s in Boston
It took my breath away.
I spent one of the worst weeks of my life living at that hospital back in 1986.
My daughter Amy had a life threatening illness that required a week in intensive care.
Some things in life are just meant to be - this is one of those.
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