@Normal:Chloe and John Riddell will say goodbye to their thick tresses for the World’s Greatest Shave. 77354
By Casey Neill
TWO Selby youngsters will part with their long locks to mark a tragic anniversary and honour “an amazing woman with a heart of gold”.
Melinda Riddell’s best friend, Debbi Jackson, died on 22 March last year following an eight-month battle with acute myeloid leukaemia.
So Mrs Riddell’s nine-year-old daughter Chloe and son John, 14, signed up for the Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave.
“The week that they held her funeral, I was in Canberra,” John said.
“So when I got back I spoke to Chloe and we decided to do the World’s Greatest Shave, just as a way for me to say goodbye to her.”
Chloe said: “We’re doing it for her.”
The pair, who attend Belgrave South Primary School and Monbulk College, have been growing their tresses ever since.
“It’s been a very annoying, long journey,” John said.
They’re both looking forward to shedding their hard-to-manage hair but admitted they’d be nervous when the 18 March shave date rolled around.
Mrs Riddell wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing her children minus their manes.
“It’s going to be more of a shock with Chloe,” she said.
“When John was little he always had the buzz cut.
“Although I must admit, it’s going to be nice not having to do the lice treatments. Hers takes nearly two hours.
“But I won’t say I won’t miss it. It’s beautiful hair.”
Chloe will also donate her hair to the Leukaemia Foundation to be made into a wig for a cancer patient.
“I’m not overly surprised that they came up with it. They are both fantastic kids,” Mrs Riddell said.
“I’m very proud of them. It was very hard losing my friend.
“They loved her very much as well and I know that means a lot to them.
“They’re very special kids and it’s not the first time they’ve gone out of their way to help somebody out.”
The Riddell siblings’ team, Super Dooper Shavers, has already raised more than half of their $1100 target.
Mrs Riddell said Debbi would have been rapt with their efforts.
“She’d be running around going ‘they’re doing that for me, they’re doing that for me!’,” she said.
“She was a big kid. She was an amazing woman with a heart of hold. The world is worse off without her here.”
The Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave aims to raise money to support patients with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma, and related blood disorders.
It also funds blood cancer research to improve treatments and find cures.
More than 11,500 people in Australia will be diagnosed with a blood cancer or related blood disorder this year – 31 people every day.
Blood cancer is Australia’s second biggest cause of cancer death.
Funding is crucial to change these statistics – $40 supports the laboratory costs for a PhD student for one day, while $400 supports a major blood cancer research project for one day.
A $27 donation to the not-for-profit organisation can provide emotional support to help overcome the initial shock of diagnosis, and $58 is the average cost for one car to transport patients to and from treatment centres each day.
Visit www.worldsgreatestshave.com for more information or to donate to Super Dooper Shavers.
