Lady Explains Why She Donated Her Hair To Cancer Patients

“I 1st thought about it at 𝟭𝟴 while going through an old family album. I noticed 𝗗𝗮𝗱𝗶’𝘀 head was covered by a scarf in all photos. Maa says she battled with 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 for 3 years before she succumbed. I was 4.

That’s when it occurred to me–when one suffers from cancer, the medical costs are so high & the emotional energy, so low. On top of that, when the patient starts to lose all their hair, it only shatters their self-confidence.

So, I wanted to do my bit to put a little smile on someone’s face–when they put on that wig, it would make them happy for those few minutes.
That’s when I decided to 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿 to a trust that makes wigs for cancer patients. I even found one in Bombay.

Still, I didn’t have the courage to take that big step; for years, this remained just a thought.
And now this may seem silly to you, but last month, I turned 𝟮𝟲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟲𝘁𝗵! To me, it felt as if I needed to do something meaningful.

And then something inside me said, ‘Do it.’ So, the very next day, I booked a bus to Rishikesh. I wanted to be away–from the city.

I reached Rishikesh on the 25th. But that night was tough, I was scared. And so, I decided to tell a friend. He said, ‘Are you mad? Don’t do it!’ But the nudge from within was too strong. I had to go through with it.

The next morning, when I reached Ganga Ghat, I took a minute & told myself, ‘This is your moment!’ 5 minutes later, when the barber was standing behind me, with the scissors in his hands…I’d never felt prouder of myself. With every strand that fell, my confidence rose!

Right after the 𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝘁, I video called Maa & Papa. They were stunned–Papa didn’t talk to me. It took me days to make them understand. I said, ‘Dadi suffered from cancer for 3 years & this is 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿.’ The next day, I donated all the hair to that trust in Bombay.

You know, I don’t know if anyone has benefited from that. And I even know that my decision might not make sense to a lot of people. But honestly, I don’t care. I know I did a good thing, that I tried to make someone else happy. And there can never be ‘too many’ reminders for that, no?”

Written by: Stuti Shukla

Source: Humans of Bombay

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com