BOY SHOWS SHEAR COURAGE.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Will's hair came out first in strands, then in uneven clumps clump n. 1. A clustered mass; a lump: clumps of soil. 2. A thick grouping, as of trees or bushes. 3. A heavy dull sound; a thud. v. . It stuck to his lips, irritated ir·ri·tate v. ir·ri·tat·ed, ir·ri·tat·ing, ir·ri·tates v.tr. 1. To rouse to impatience or anger; annoy: a loud bossy voice that irritates listeners. his eyes and fell into his food, but Kristine Doyle says her son, then 4, never complained, never cried. The chemotherapy treatments took Will's eyelashes next - ``one long, beautiful, curly hair at a time,'' she says. His eyebrows went next. Still her son, diagnosed with a deadly form of cancer, didn't cry, didn't complain. ``He lost so much weight and developed a deathlike pallor pallor /pal·lor/ (pal´er) paleness, as of the skin. pal·lor n. Paleness, as of the skin. , but when you looked beyond the frail body and sunken features, you could see this zest for life shining in his eyes and smile,'' Kristine says. ``It was contagious, his unwavering hope for the future. Fear and desperation had no choice but to take a backseat.'' Her son is 6 now and has been cancer-free for almost two years. Still, he must go into the hospital for brain scans and chest MRIs every three months. His hair has grown back, but that's about to change again. On St. Patrick's St. Patrick's or Saint Patrick's may refer to:
 This article or section is written like an . - and shave off all his hair. Because bald is beautiful, he says. It's nothing for a kid with cancer to be ashamed of or embarrassed by. That's the message this North Hills family and a few hundred police and firefighters in this city are trying to spread through the St. Baldrick's Foundation The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a non-profit charity, based in the United States. The foundation raises money for childhood cancer research primarily through head-shaving events. . ``Shaving your head bald to help raise funds for children's cancer research is a bold statement of solidarity,'' says Kathleen Ruddy rud·dy adj. rud·di·er, rud·di·est 1. a. Having a healthy, reddish color. b. Reddish; rosy. 2. , executive director of this unique foundation formed five years ago by three Irish friends who wanted to do something more productive on St. Patrick's Day than go barhopping again. They got 20 of their friends to raise pledges for children's cancer research by agreeing to shave off their precious hair. Five years later, more than 8,000 volunteers nationally have raised nearly $7 million for cancer research doing the same thing. ``It shows you're willing to look different and alter your appearance to help someone else. When you show up at work bald the next day, everybody is going to know and be talking about it. ``You're not only raising funds for cancer research, but you're also raising awareness Raising awareness is a common phrase advocacy groups use to justify a particular event, brochure or even the entire organization. Raising awareness refers to alerting the general public that a certain issue exists and should be approached the way the group desires. ,'' Ruddy says. A couple of years ago, the idea caught the imagination of city Fire Department Capt. Waldie Brangham of Station 89 in North Hollywood. His wife was battling breast cancer, and his father-in-law had died of brain cancer. Like many relatives of people with cancer, he was feeling helpless to do anything but offer support. ``I thought to myself kids look up to firemen as being heroes, so what better way to show them our support than shave our heads and become bald, too? ``Tell them not to feel strange or embarrassed about it, because we don't. We're joining you - and raising funds for cancer research.'' When Will's dad heard what Brangham was doing, the police sergeant got dozens of officers who work work with him in the new LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Valley communications center An agency charged with the responsibility for handling and controlling communications traffic. The center normally includes message center, transmitting, and receiving facilities. Also called COMCEN. See also telecommunications center. in West Hills to join the Fire Department's effort for pledges last year. Together, they shaved their heads and raised more than $50,000 for St. Baldrick's Foundation to distribute to the CureSearch Children's Oncology Group, a nationwide research network of hospitals that treat more than 90 percent of children with cancer. Locally, those hospitals include Cedars-Sinai, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. and the UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. . He's a lucky man, Doyle was saying Monday, watching his son take tap- dancing lessons - something Will promised his mother he'd do a few years ago when she looked past his frail body and sunken features to see that zest for life shining in his eyes. ``I'm in awe of my son all the time,'' Doyle said. ``He's just so strong- willed and courageous. When I told him his brother and I were going to shave our heads again this year, he said he wanted to join us. ``I told Will he didn't have to do that, not after everything he's been through to get his hair back. But he insisted. He said if it would help other kids with cancer, he wanted to be bald again.'' Because bald is beautiful, Will Doyle says. It's nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. Not for healthy adults going back to work without any hair the day after St. Patrick's Day, not for sick kids fighting for life. The St. Baldrick's event this St. Patrick's Day - Thursday, March 17 - will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the LAPD Police Academy, 1880 N. Academy Rd. in Los Angeles. It's open to the public, so if you want to get some pledges and stop by to shave your head, feel free. Or you can just stop by and offer a pledge to a police officer or firefighter who's going bald. For other St. Baldrick events, go online to www.stbaldricks.org, or call the foundation's toll free number (888) 899-BALD. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Will Doyle, 6, hugs his mom. His hair is back after chemotherapy for cancer, but he plans to go bald again in a fund-raiser. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion