Mum shows 'it's only hair' to support daughter, 5, through cancer treatment
When five-year-old Dulcie O'Kelly got upset at her hair falling out after cancer treatment, her mum came up with her own way to make her feel better – and got her head shaved.
Dulcie, from Lawley in Telford, is currently undergoing treatment for aggressive cancer – Stage 4 neuroblastoma.
Her treatment means she is being given induction chemotherapy, which has resulted in the Lawley Primary School pupil losing her hair.
Dulcie's mum, Debra O'Kelly, explained that the idea to shave her head had come after her daughter had told her she was worried about how she looked.
She said: "Dulcie said 'mummy, am I ugly with no hair?', and I said 'no, having hair does not define you, it is just hair and it will grow back. You are the most beautiful princess mummy knows. If it makes you feel better let's go and shave mummy's hair off, it's only hair'."
Heading to Market Drayton's Francesco salon on Saturday, Dulcie was given the first chop and the first buzz at her mum's locks.
Debbie said: "She did the first cut of the pony tail then Kelby the hairdresser gave Dulcie the clippers and she did the first buzz up the back of my head.
"She thought it was brilliant and she enjoyed it so much she did about three or four more before Kelby finished the job."
Debbie has always had long hair so it is a new look for the 39-year-old, who said she just wanted her daughter to feel better.
She said: "I have always had long hair. The shortest I have ever had it was shoulder length – I have never even had it in a bob let alone shaved."
Debbie joked that she looked like GI Jane, and added: "I thought I look like my younger brother just with better eyebrows."
The family are trying to raise £200,000 in case Dulcie needs follow up treatment in the US.
And although Debbie has urged anyone who wants to donate to give to the Go Fund Me page, she said the head shave was all about helping her daughter feel better.
She said: "It is for the reassurance for Dulcie. Raising funds for the cause is a bonus, but even without that I would have done it for her anyway."
The fundraising campaign has rocketed in recent weeks, and currently sits just shy of £29,000.
Dulcie's local community, family and friends have all rallied round to support the cause with a host of events planned to help raise funds over the coming months.
Debbie said the family had been blown away by the level of support – with strangers contacting her to offer help.
She said: "It has been overwhelming. It has been such an eye-opener. People think everyone keeps themselves to themselves these days, that people don't do things for other people any more, but we have only been here in this community since 2018 and the response is just amazing.
"I had a stranger, a friend of a work colleague, do a huge hamper because she has a daughter the same age as Dulcie.
"You just never think it is going to happen to you. If I could go and hug everyone and say thank you I would – and thank you does not even get close to covering how I feel about it."
Anyone who wishes to support the fundraising can do so at gofundme.com/f/dulciesneuroblastomajourney.
