PALMER, Alaska – Beyond childhood cancer science and statistics are remarkable stories of love. One Alaska woman is working to provide a magical escape from a child’s post-chemo world.
Holly Christensen, a former cancer nurse, said she never expected her small project to grow into a nationwide effort, KTVA reports.
“Last fall one of my friends from nursing school, I found out their daughter was diagnosed with cancer,” Christensen said. “I knew having been a cancer nurse what she was about to go through.”
The Magic Yarn Project
The young mother had recently made Disney princess wigs with yarn for her own children and thought her friend’s daughter would love one as well.
“I’ll have to show you the picture. It’s so precious,” Christensen said. “She’s stroking her Rapunzel hair and she’s just like, ‘Pretty soon my hair is going to grow back and I’m going to have real Rapunzel hair.’”
What started as a way to help one young cancer survivor feel like a princess is now a growing project and requests for wigs are pouring in.
The Magic Yarn Project
That's when “The Magic Yarn Project” was born and volunteers from around the country jumped onboard.
“We have individual families contacting us wanting wigs for their own little girls who had just been diagnosed and we have four hospitals right now that have ordered wigs,” Christensen said.
In fact, Christensen and the volunteers have made dozens of yarn wigs for little warriors who are bravely battling cancer.
“They’re going to be really sick and some of them won’t make it,” she said. “It’s really hard, but just to see that a little bit of magic can be brought back into their life, that makes a difference for them and it makes a difference for their family.”
The wigs are free to recipients and The Magic Yarn Project relies solely on donations to pay for supplies and shipping costs.
The Magic Yarn Project
Christensen hopes to make as many wigs as possible and send them off to individuals and hospitals nationwide. She dreams of teaming up with other nonprofits such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
She says it’s wonderful to give children the wigs, but what’s equally magical is seeing all the people who want to volunteer.
Be sure to follow the Magic Yarn Project on Facebookand GoFundMe for info about how you can get involved.
The Magic Yarn Project
