A mom and her six sons have been growing their hair out for quite some time and today their patience finally paid off. Phoebe Kannisto and her sons, Andre (10), Silas and Emerson – identical twins – (8) and Herbie, Reed, and Dexter – fraternal triplets (5) together donated 17 feet of hair to Children With Hair Loss.
“This was the triplets first haircut, so they’ve been growing theirs for five years. My three oldest sons donated two years ago, too. It took the twins two years to grow theirs back out. Andre has been growing his for a year (it grows fast) and I’ve been growing mine for 1.5 years. Three years ago a friend of mine had a son that passed away from cancer. He was also a twin and very close in age to my twins. On the first anniversary of his passing, my three oldest boys donated their hair in his memory. Since we last donated, so many more people in our lives have been diagnosed with cancer. Some of them have won their battle, some have not and some are still fighting. My sons want to help, and donating their hair is how they do it,” said Kannisto.
Kannisto says she is so proud of her boys who even through teasing from children and adults managed to stay strong for their cause. Nothing stopped them from accomplishing their goals even if it meant being the center of attention.
“They were picked on often, especially my three oldest sons. When it was their peers picking on them, and they explained they were donating their hair, other children didn’t really seem to care, and the teasing continued. When it was adults making comments to them, they always seemed embarrassed or ashamed after the boys explained what they were doing with their long hair. The boys have learned to grow thick skin. They’ve learned to ignore the ridicule. They also have some pretty amazing friends and family that have supported them from day 1.
The Kannisto Family would like to thank Hizair Hair Salon in North Tonawanda for bringing them in after hours, so they had the entire salon to themselves. They also refused to accept payment for the haircuts.
For more information on Children With Hair Loss, visit www.childrenwithhairloss.us.
