Jennifer Gould (seated) said she didn't want her mother, Marie Gould (left), to fight cancer alone. That led the 41-year-old to have her head shaved Saturday at House of Dimitri in St. Albans. Hairstylist Vanessa Weiland said she was joyful to take part in the Goulds' special day.
Jennifer Gould said if her own mother can live with a bare head, she could too. She is now her mother's "cancer buddy."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Tears streamed down Jennifer Gould's face as the layers of hair fell at her feet.
The 41-year-old wasn't upset that her full head of hair was cut down to stubble by a stylist Saturday afternoon. She wanted to be bald.
"Beauty is in the heart," Gould said, flashing a grin as she sat in the salon chair at House of Dimitri in St. Albans. "Bald is the new sexy."
As her brown hair piled up on the ground, Jennifer held the hand of her mother, Marie Gould, 60, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in May.
Marie said she is done with chemotherapy. The doctors have "done all they can do, and I'm in God's hands right now."
The Kanawha City resident lost all her hair while battling cancer. She usually sports a baseball cap.
Jennifer said if her own mother can live with a bare head, she could too. She is now her mother's "cancer buddy."
"My hair is important to me, but when my mother got cancer and lost all of her hair, now it's just hair to me," Jennifer said. "She has accepted who she is and if she can live without hair, then I can too. It's just hair. It will grow back. She is a beautiful human being, and I will stand next to her and fight it."
The Goulds and their family, friends and co-workers met at the St. Albans salon Saturday. The gathering celebrated Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially devastated children, teens and young adults in the U.S. and Canada who suffer from long-term medical hair loss.
The hair donated Saturday will be made into a wig for a child and will have Marie's name inscribed inside as a way to honor her, Jennifer said.
"Long after her passing, a little kid will wear a wig with her name in it, and she will live on," Jennifer said.
Although Jennifer couldn't donate her hair -- it had highlights, and hair cannot be used if it's been bleached -- three others present did donate to Locks of Love.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Tears streamed down Jennifer Gould's face as the layers of hair fell at her feet.
The 41-year-old wasn't upset that her full head of hair was cut down to stubble by a stylist Saturday afternoon. She wanted to be bald.
"Beauty is in the heart," Gould said, flashing a grin as she sat in the salon chair at House of Dimitri in St. Albans. "Bald is the new sexy."
As her brown hair piled up on the ground, Jennifer held the hand of her mother, Marie Gould, 60, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in May.
Marie said she is done with chemotherapy. The doctors have "done all they can do, and I'm in God's hands right now."
The Kanawha City resident lost all her hair while battling cancer. She usually sports a baseball cap.
Jennifer said if her own mother can live with a bare head, she could too. She is now her mother's "cancer buddy."
"My hair is important to me, but when my mother got cancer and lost all of her hair, now it's just hair to me," Jennifer said. "She has accepted who she is and if she can live without hair, then I can too. It's just hair. It will grow back. She is a beautiful human being, and I will stand next to her and fight it."
The Goulds and their family, friends and co-workers met at the St. Albans salon Saturday. The gathering celebrated Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially devastated children, teens and young adults in the U.S. and Canada who suffer from long-term medical hair loss.
The hair donated Saturday will be made into a wig for a child and will have Marie's name inscribed inside as a way to honor her, Jennifer said.
"Long after her passing, a little kid will wear a wig with her name in it, and she will live on," Jennifer said.
Although Jennifer couldn't donate her hair -- it had highlights, and hair cannot be used if it's been bleached -- three others present did donate to Locks of Love.
Marie's other daughter and caretaker, Angela Ross, 35, had 10 inches of her hair pulled into a ponytail, cut off and put away in a plastic bag for donation.
Ross said her daughter, Shelby Cobb, 8, heard family members talk about donating their hair, so she decided she wanted to as well. The little girl smiled as stylist Vanessa Weiland snipped at her shiny black hair.
Family friend Meghan Kessinger also donated 10 inches of her long brown hair.
Denise Davis, a friend and co-worker, donated $100 to the nonprofit organization Saturday. Mardi Gras Casino, where Marie worked for 18 years, donated $500 to Locks of Love.
"I'm so thankful for everybody, all of my family, who has been a part of this," a tearful Marie said. "It's a win-win situation for all of us today."
While Marie is thrilled that her grown daughter shaved her head, she was just as happy that Jennifer could come home at all.
Jennifer has visited home only once in the past seven years. The West Virginia native has been living in Washington state and is studying office administration at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia.
Jennifer said she had to take out her first student loan to travel home to see her mother for the holidays.
"When I found out she had lung cancer I was devastated, living so far away. I wanted to come home, but I'm a college student and I was financially not able to," Jennifer said. "I had to take out my first student loan or I wouldn't have been able to come in at all."
When Weiland turned off the buzzing hair clipper, Jennifer proudly stood up, rubbed her neatly shorn bald head and hugged her mother.
"I can't believe you did that," Marie said.
"It's for you, and I love you," her daughter said. "It's an honor."
Reach Megan Workman at megan.work...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.
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