A young girl from the Baie Verte Peninsula has done what many her age wouldn’t dare think about venturing into. The hair on her head - something that many young girls are so protective over, and care so much for - has now been shaved off completely.
Sixteen-year-old Damara Morey says that she recently clipped off all her hair in an effort to donate it to people who are suffering from Cancer. While she didn’t get her parent’s permission to do what she did, after finding out, they were supportive of her none-the-less.
The Ming’s Bight girl says that she decided to ‘make the cut’ after hearing about people participating in Shave for the Brave - an annual event where people shave their heads to raise money for cancer research.
A student at Copper Ridge Academy, she says she didn’t go about it in the exact same way, but hopes that her actions will bring attention to people suffering from the disease.
“I shaved off all of my hair to donate it for people who suffer from cancer, whom have lost their hair,” she explains. “I didn’t fundraise or anything like that. I have never done something like this before. It was just a thing of the moment, really. I got the idea in my head one night, and I went for it.”
Morey says her bravery did in fact come at somewhat of a shock to her friends and family, since they weren’t expecting her to take what some consider a drastic action.
“I did this without the permission of my parents so they were a little surprised,” she said. “My friends and family think it’s great that I have done this, though. I’ve received a lot of messages from my friends, and even people I don’t really know, telling me how brave I am and how proud they are of me.”
Some may think that a person would have second thoughts about going ahead with this, but Morey says she was even more excited once she started clipping, and the hair actually started coming off.
“Once I was in the middle of it, I was really excited and happy that I was doing it. My mind was completely made up and there was no turning back.”
Her hope though all of this is to raise awareness of the cause she supports so much. Morey says that she feels a connection to it since she’s been touched by the disease through people she was close with.
“My grandfather died from cancer six years ago. I was extremely close to him, and I felt like this was the right thing to do. My aunt suffered from breast cancer and lost all of her hair due to treatment, although thankfully, she’s doing well now. Also, one of my friends had cancer when he was a baby.”
It’s actions like this by Damara Morey and people like her, that show was Bravery is all about.
rnorman@thenorwester.ca
