When Matt Shaha graduated from a university with a strict dress code, he joked with his mom, Melanie, over lunch.
“I said, ‘Why don’t I grow out my hair to make a wig for you?'” Matt said.
Because Matt had been attending a university that wouldn’t let him grow his hair out, he decided that he would once he graduated. But now, growing his hair out has become a bigger cause.
Melanie lost her hair because of a benign brain tumor of the pituitary gland that was diagnosed in 2003.
“I had surgery to remove the tumor and I had a really great outcome,” Melanie told TODAY.
But then the tumor came back in 2006 and again in 2017. When it came back for the third time, her doctors recommended radiation treatment.
She had one question if she would lose her hair during the treatment. Her doctors said no.
They were wrong.
Three months after starting her treatment, she began to lose patches of hair on her head. It turns out that radiation can cause hair to fall out on the areas it was treating.
“Not having hair, you stick out like a sore thumb and well-meaning people can say things that break your heart,” Melanie shared. “I don’t mind being sick but I mind looking sick. I’d rather blend in and not stand out at the store.”
At that time, Matt’s hair was already starting to grow so he just let it. But knowing that he’s now doing it for his mom made it easier not to get his hair cut.
The minimum length needed to have a wig made is 12 inches. It took him a little over three years to grow this length.
And during this time, he never told anyone outside his family what he was doing. And people joked when they asked Matt if he really liked long hair. He would just say yes.
All this time though, Melanie felt bad and was telling her son he didn’t have to go through with it.
“I would tell him, ‘I love your hair’ and he’d say, ‘Coming soon to a head near you!'” Melanie recalled.
And when Matt’s hair reached the required 12 inches, he went to his mom’s house and had it chopped off.
Melanie cried when Matt’s hair was cut.
They sent it out to Compassionate Creations to have Melanie’s wig created.
“The family was such a joy to work with,” Veronica Balch, co-founder of the company, said. “When someone selflessly shaves their head for a family member, it makes what we do even more special.”
View this post on Instagram
When the wig arrived, Melanie loved it.
They had it cut and styled according to what suited Melanie and Matt told her it looked perfect on her.
“Seeing what it’s been able to do [for] her has meant the world. I didn’t expect it to mean as much as it did until it actually happened,” Matt told NewsNation.
Want to see Matt and Melanie’s transformation from long to short hair and no hair to lots of hair? Watch the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
