As
many of you would be aware, recently I participated in the Leukaemia Foundation’s
World’s Greatest Shave Fundraiser, offering up my beard and hair for the
charity. All cancer charities, not just specifically Leukaemia related ones are
important to me. Cancer touches so many families, it’s almost unavoidable to
not know someone who’e wrestled with the disease.
My first interaction with this horrible disease and the effect it can have, came when I was only in the 5th Grade. My friend Evan at School was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour, and underwent all sorts of treatment, including chemotherapy. We, his classmates, watched as he summoned bravery beyond his years to confront the disease head on. We watched as he got frail. We watched as his energy rapidly declined. We watched as his hair fell out. We watched him try to hide his 5th grade embarrasment under a South Sydney Rabbitohs cap. And then, one horrible day, Evan wasn’t there anymore. He died in 1995, the year he would have been graduating primary school. His mother took her lunch to his gravesite everyday, so she could have lunch with him. The thought of that breaks my heart. The natural order of things says that no mother should have to bury her children, especially before they even have a chance to live. That was the first time I saw cancer impact lives around me.
My first interaction with this horrible disease and the effect it can have, came when I was only in the 5th Grade. My friend Evan at School was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour, and underwent all sorts of treatment, including chemotherapy. We, his classmates, watched as he summoned bravery beyond his years to confront the disease head on. We watched as he got frail. We watched as his energy rapidly declined. We watched as his hair fell out. We watched him try to hide his 5th grade embarrasment under a South Sydney Rabbitohs cap. And then, one horrible day, Evan wasn’t there anymore. He died in 1995, the year he would have been graduating primary school. His mother took her lunch to his gravesite everyday, so she could have lunch with him. The thought of that breaks my heart. The natural order of things says that no mother should have to bury her children, especially before they even have a chance to live. That was the first time I saw cancer impact lives around me.
Once
before, I decided to do my part to help the Leukaemia Foundation and attempt
the World’s Greatest Shave. I shaved my head and part of my beard, but I left a
Goatee and a Moustache… I simply couldn’t go the whole hog. Without getting too
Freudian, I think on some level I hide behind my facial hair, and I didn’t want
to let it completely go… Stupid, right? I think I raised $400 that year.
This
time round, I took it more seriously. I set my fundraiser target at $750 and I
committed to shave all my hair and all my beard. I joked with people that I’d
had my beard longer than I’ve had my wife (which is true… we celebrated our 6
year anniversary recently, and I’ve had the beard for at least 8 or 9 years). But
I still wasn’t quite on the maturity level I needed to be on. I still had fear
and excuses running around my head, “What will my daughter think? Will she know
it’s me, her Dad? What if Mel thinks it’s creepy and won’t come near me? What
if people tease me and call me Uncle Fester? (Side Note: This one actually came true like 15
times post-shave)” I still spent a lot of time consoling myself with the fact
that in just a few short weeks, I’d have a beard again… I was missing the
point. You see the point of shaving your head is to represent people who lose
their hair from cancer treatments, to look through their eyes for a while. I
was still thinking “It’ll grow back and I won’t look weird anymore” but the
thousands of people battling cancer don’t get off that easy. They lose their
hair for a long time, and they go through hell physically along the way. The
treatment seems to knock the life out of them and they become frail and energy-less.
They just want to survive, and here is me worrying about looking funny and not
having a beard to hide behind. I’m starting to get the point, but it was a slow
process.
In
the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, Jesus outlines a simple message, which can
be summarised in this way, “When you show love to the sick, you are showing
love to Jesus.” I understand that my hair isn’t doing anybody any favours, but
if by shaving off my beard and hair, and being outside my comfort zone for a
few weeks, prompts people to donate their money to a charity that will help the
sick, I’m there. It’s what Jesus asks of me, Love them and You’ll be loving
Him.
The Leukaemia Foundation has a great many uses for the funds we raise. Some of it goes to aiding the families of Cancer sufferers as they go through the motions of treatment. Some provides services to the sufferers themselves.
I’m happy to say that I reached my target of $750… and then with all your help, I passed the target and kept going. Together we doubled it and then some, and I was able to raise over $1600. Thank you for your support in this! Here I sit now, 2 & ½ weeks later, and my beard is growing faster than my hair. It’s back on my face, I can hide once more. But this few weeks of “Beard Nakedness” has taught me a great deal, and I have no regrets. I only hope those who truly go without hair don’t suffer so much, and that everyone’s effort’s with the World’s Greatest Shave contribute to them soldiering on and fighting this disease. Then hopefuly, people just like my friend Evan and his mum can get the support they need as they fight on!
The Leukaemia Foundation has a great many uses for the funds we raise. Some of it goes to aiding the families of Cancer sufferers as they go through the motions of treatment. Some provides services to the sufferers themselves.
I’m happy to say that I reached my target of $750… and then with all your help, I passed the target and kept going. Together we doubled it and then some, and I was able to raise over $1600. Thank you for your support in this! Here I sit now, 2 & ½ weeks later, and my beard is growing faster than my hair. It’s back on my face, I can hide once more. But this few weeks of “Beard Nakedness” has taught me a great deal, and I have no regrets. I only hope those who truly go without hair don’t suffer so much, and that everyone’s effort’s with the World’s Greatest Shave contribute to them soldiering on and fighting this disease. Then hopefuly, people just like my friend Evan and his mum can get the support they need as they fight on!
