A true love story
I would like to tell you about a wonderful organization and a remarkable child. In order for you to fully appreciate this true story, I feel that some background information about this child is vital.
His name is Dimitry and he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia where he lived until the age of six. Try to imagine the courage it would take to leave the only home you have ever known, with a person you have just met, that only speaks a language you’ve never heard before, and fly half way around the world to an unknown. Yes, I realize that children are adopted from other countries and brought to America everyday, but the courage displayed by these kids is incredible.
The wonderful organization is Locks of Love. This non-profit organization collects human hair, under strict guidelines, to be made into natural-looking prostheses. These custom fit hairpieces are then given to financially disadvantaged children that have lost their own hair due to a long-term medical condition. Try to imagine being a child again only this time with no hair. Do you remember how hard it was to fit in with your peers? In my day it was about how you wore your hair, not did you have any.
This brings us back to Dimitry. He made up his mind three years ago that he would like to donate his hair to a child that could not grow its own. His mother helped him learn about the guidelines and together they found that only one rule would be difficult for him to live with. He would need to grow his hair until he had a ten-inch ponytail. This would have been acceptable back in the 60’s, but not now. For a boy to wear his hair long today couldn’t be more wrong. He took a lot of teasing from other kids, and many well-meaning adults referred to him as she. Although he was ridiculed daily, he went to school and not only made passing grades, but academically kept up with the students that were born here in America and didn’t struggle with the English language.
Finally, after three years of torment, it was time to get this remarkable child together with the wonderful organization. His mother found that a number of salons in the area participated in the Locks of Love program. By chance, she chose Hairmasters Institute of Cosmetology to collect the gift. The people there treated him like the hero he truly is.
