Locks of Love for Kim

The last time I got my hair cut was March 16, 2013 on my 40th birthday.  

Then during the summer of 2013 (July 8th to be exact when she went in for her annual mammogram), my dear friend Kim Kredich was diagnosed with breast cancer.  When I found out, I actually considered shaving my head, but Kim said absolutely not. 

On Sat, Aug 31, 2013 at 10:47 AM, Emilyjasonhuff ‪<emilyjasonhuff@aol.com>‬ wrote:

be gentle with yourself as you heal, sweet friend... 

when does the chemo start? (With no radiation, does that mean that you will not lose any hair? Wondering if I need to schedule an appointment to shave my head out here...) 

-Emily 

On Mon, Sept 2, 2013 at 5:34 AM, Kim Kredich ‪<kimkredich@gmail.com>‬ wrote: 

Hi, Em!

Finally have a moment to write back -- it is a little nuts around here, but mostly because I keep taking Epic Naps throughout the day, ahhhh.  Unfortunately, it is the chemo that zaps the hair.  The whole point of chemo is to kill the fast-growing cells in the body (so it targets cancer cells then), but nails and hair get zapped along with those since they are the naturally fast-growing cells.  I want to tell you now that I want you to RUN RUN RUN for me, not CUT HAIR for me, Friend!!  I love my hair and I love your hair, and I don't want to see any of it gone, but mine is the one that has to go in October, sigh.  The boys wanted to shave their heads and it struck me that it made me SAD SAD SAD to think of their hair gone.  So I told them that I only have to see my hair gone when I look in the mirror, but that I wanted to revel in their good looks and cool hair whenever I looked at them, so that is what I will say to you.  

So I decided then that I would not cut it again until she was through the whole ordeal. While my hair kept on growing and growing and growing, Kim endured 6 months of chemotherapy + 30 days of radiation + 4 surgeries and lost her hair in the process (which was the most gorgeous hair in the world, in my opinion, with all its curls and spunk).  

(picture taken in June 2012 when we went to see the musical Wicked together) 

Her hair started to grow back for a while (but it was an ashen gray color) and then it fell out again, and then it finally began to come back for good.  

Through all the ups and downs, Kim did not quit.  This woman even won her age division in a triathlon we did together in April (after a year of battling cancer, mind you!).  She's got grit, people. 

By July of 2014 (a year after her diagnosis), Kim was free from her breast cancer and she sure beat that battle in style.  She has the cutest pixie hair style now and continues to live life with passion and persistence. Her nickname "KimPossible" is very fitting. 

The woman who cuts my hair has been on maternity leave and the first haircut I could get not her schedule was for today (September 6th) so today was the magic day when I went in to have them cut off two pony tails of hair to donate to Locks of Love in honor of Kim.  

When I first told my friend Heather this summer that I was going to cut my hair, she quoted the line from Little Women.  In this classic tale, Jo cuts her hair and sells it to get money for Marmee’s train ticket to Washington, where Father is recuperating after being wounded in battle. When Amy sees Jo’s shorn head, she cries, “Oh, Jo! Your one beauty!” 

I did not actually feel that my hair was my one beauty. And for the record, Heather told me that she did not feel that way about me either.  :)  But, it felt significant today to cut my hair so that it can be made into a wig for a child who has lost her hair to chemo or to some other medical condition in honor of Kim.  It had grown so long that I rarely wore it down anymore because it felt a bit more like a lion's mane.  I had to tame it by wearing it often in braids or in pony tails or up in a fun twist or bun of some sort.  

selfie before the big haircut 

half way gone.... 

I'm thankful that I had hair to give and that my hair will help make a wig for a child somewhere. I'm thankful that even though Kim is miles away in Knoxville, that it's days like these that make it seem like she is right here with me. I'm thankful that as Kim's hair grows, mine will too, and we'll both be able to look in the mirror and smile with each other at the changes we weather in life.  

One woman I know wrote about her Locks of Love experience and shared, "As my mother used to say, 'Pretty is as pretty does.' Keeping my hair would be pretty, but it’s far prettier to give it away."