2019 Paint the Paper Pink

2019 Paint the Paper Pink Lincoln Daily News October 2019 Page 61 when her friend was able to go to Fabulous Hairstyles in Lincoln and get a wig through the American Cancer Society Wig Bank. “My best friend had cancer and was losing her hair and went to Fabulous Hairstyles and tried on wigs. They had plastic tubs full of wigs in every color and length. She picked one out that was close to her regular hairstyle and Kim cut and shaped it to look so natural. I can’t tell you what this service did for her self-esteem. It’s an amazing service. And while American Cancer Society supplies most of those wigs for free, Kim and Judy at Fabulous have such a compassionate hearts for those going through cancer. They have been there and know the struggle.” Karen also noted that when her friend left her, the wig she had gotten from Fabulous was donated back to the wig bank along with a second wig that her friend had purchased. Nila Smith also had a close friend who went through the loss of hair. She remembers how hard it hit her friend, and the impact it had on Nila as well. “She was a strong woman, unshakable in just about every situation. She took her cancer battle seriously and was determined that it would not take her life. She fought hard and for a bit, it seemed that she might succeed. Then she developed metastatic breast cancer of the brain, and it was downhill from then on. “Even as her condition worsened though, she was still a fighter and she stayed a fighter to the very last day. I seldom saw her fall apart or get angry over what she was going through, with one exception. I remember it so clearly, we had talked earlier in the day as we did every day. But on that particular evening, I was at home and she called me. She was crying hard and it took a while for her to relay to me that she had gone to wash her hair and a bunch of it came out. “She was one of those people that her hair defined her. She had a light complexion with freckles and bright red hair that she loved. She always looked younger than she was because of her coloring. It gave her that little girl look all the time. “Through the tears she talked about her hair and how devastating it was to have it leave her. Then as the tears finally subsided she said to me, “you have to come cut my hair.” Then it was my turn to sob hard, I didn’t think I could do it in spite of the fact she was my best friend. “I don’t think I can do it,” Nila said. She replied, “I don’t think I can either. That’s why it has to be you. I don’t want anyone else to go through this with me, it has to be you.” “So, I got in the car and drove to her house that night. We did it in her kitchen and we snipped and bawled and snipped and bawled all the way through it. When we were finished she had only about a quarter inch of hair all over her head, and the spots where hair had come out were quite visible. “For the next few days she wore scarves and hats, but after about a week, all the hair was gone and she was completely bald. Then one day she showed up wearing this cute little red wig. I had worried about her going into a depression over the loss of her hair, and knew if she did, she might give up. But the wig, well it was the next best thing for her. She had chosen red, of course, and had it styled similar to her own hair. Yes, you could tell if you Continued n