As for most cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment, one of the hardest transitions is losing their hair, and this can be traumatizing most especially for kids. Sweet mother of three and former cancer nurse from Alaska gives each kid battling with cancer their magical experience by weaving Disney princess-inspired wigs made of yarn.
The very first time Holly Christensen conceived the idea was when she was making a Rapunzel's wig for Lily, the 3-year-old daughter of her friend, who was diagnosed with lymphoma last year. "I knew she would be going through a difficult time, and that no one would be able to take her suffering away. I also knew that losing her long, curly blonde hair at not even 3 years old would be difficult for her, so I figured that the yarn wig could help bring a little magic and fun to a difficult time in her life," she said.
After creating one wig, Ms. Christensen together with a colleague Bree Hitchcock put up "The Magic Yarn Project." Knowing the sensitivity traditional wigs can give to children's bare scalp, the project noted that their wigs are made of "baby" yarns that are soft enough to crochet into beanies and then transformed into beautiful wigs.
Today, the project has grown with the help of some friends from church and a little Facebook publicity. Ms. Christensen revealed that a number of volunteers and sponsors came sprouting across the world.
Because of the outpouring support received, the Magic Yarn made over 40 pieces of princess wigs at a cost of $650 in its first workshop. All the recipients from different parts of the country receive the wigs as a gift.
"The mission of The Magic Yarn Project is to create beautiful and soft princess yarn wigs for little girls with cancer and to encourage and facilitate volunteerism by involving communities nationwide in this project. We are so excited to see where this takes us and look forward to bringing light and magic to an otherwise very difficult time in the lives of little cancer fighters."
Because the project is still at its early stages, Ms. Christensen for now relied on donations and volunteers. The second workshop is set mid-November this year.
For donations, you may visit their official GoFundMe Page. Donations will be used to buy the supplies like yarn and the shipping fees.
In an interview with the ABC News, Ms Christensen said, "Once a cancer nurse, always a cancer nurse. It's so heart-wrenching and life-changing to work in cancer."