H.V. Nagendra
My son Vijay has taken part in the St. Baldrick event at Tulane Medical Center since the storm through 2009. In his memory I am going to participate in this year’s St. Baldrick event on Oak Street on March 20, 2010 between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. across from the Maple Leaf Bar.
St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world to find cures and improve the quality of life for patients and survivors. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government.
Our personal experience, as parents, using and consulting on new information on drug therapy research in many ways extended Vijay’s life. It allowed us to give a REAL quality of life that he most deserved.
If you are able, the Link below allows you to personally make a contribution to that effort.
http://www.stbaldricks.org/events/mypage/eventid/4068/eventyear/2010.
Mary and I thank you for your consideration.
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Gary Michael Smith
I credit Anne for getting me involved. Although I’d considered shaving my head for the style, comfort, and freedom from fussing with it, she first talked me into shaving my head back in 2007. She had lost a husband to cancer and had shaved her head in support of continuing research, and was proud to have raised around $10,000. That was impressive by any standards, and she guaranteed that she would solicit her friends as well.
The shaving went well, and my wife documented the event with her camera, which resulted in some great shots of me exposing my dome. I’ve always had a lot of hair and remember barbers always having to “thin it out” during a cut. Those were the days. But maiming to a micron in length is quite another thing. Although it was low-maintenance, which I liked, the look took a little getting used to. Bruce Willis I’m not, but again, it’s for a good cause.
I didn’t know Anne’s husband but know that he was a professional photographer. And now that I’m in the same business I feel even more solidarity for the mane mangling. But the biggest reason to do it now is that my own wife was diagnosed with breast cancer just this past November, and at this time she has very little hair. So now I have a real life experience of “the battle.”
What I’ve learned about cancer, treatment protocols, prognoses, and outcomes is astonishing. (I've even learned about the CaringBridge website where cancer patients can blog about their illness.) But what’s also important and often overlooked are the other aspects of the disease—the emotional and psychological battles that accompany the physical pain, fatigue, bowel disruption, nausea, and loss of appetite. It’s all one big dysfunctional family that has to be dealt with on a daily basis.
So when folks agree to liberate their hair, to many this is much more of a statement of compassion, empathy, and solidarity than just contributing to the financial cause. Shavees often donate their dreads toward an individual, but to many it’s a more universal gesture. Whether you’re a cancer survivor or caretaker you always understand the symbolism and importance of this gesture.
It’s also about healing—inside and out.
