One of the most difficult things was being teased at school until children’s charity Variety Australia’s Hair with Heart organisers stepped in and gave her a custom-made wig.
Now 15, Hannah is happy and outgoing and no longer feels the need to wear the wig everyday but more donations of hair are needed to help other sufferers.
When eight-year-old Bankstown resident Azalea Needham saw photos of children without hair and mum Jenny explained they were cancer sufferers, her first response was “how do we get them new hair?”.
She was very excited to grow her already long hair up until last week when it was long enough to cut and donate it to Hair with Heart.
Mum Jenny said Azalea and her brother Jude, 10, donate a third of their pocket money each week to charity.
“They have previously donated to disaster relief efforts and last year, spent $400US sponsoring a Buddhist nun in Nepal,” she said.
“We try to teach them they can splurge with a third of their money, save a third and always put aside a third for charity; they are so excited to help others and we are very proud of them.”
Azalea has also collected $1,671 from sponsors to donate to the Hair with Heart initiative but has set a goal of $2,000 so invites others to contribute to the worthy cause at hairwithheart.variety.org.au/fundraisers/azaleaneedham
Azalea gets chop so hair can be set in wig for sick children
AT just four years of age, Hannah started getting bald patches and soon after was diagnosed with the lifelong condition, alopecia areata, which causes hair loss.
