Shave for cancer support monkeys
Waipukurau’s Neen Kennedy hasn’t had her hair cut in 13 years. But being a person who never does things by halves, she’s about to take the lot off.
Neen’s going to have her head shaved on March 24, as part of the annual Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ (LBC) fundraiser, Shave for a Cure.
“I am hoping to raise enough for 10 monkeys,” Neen says.
The monkeys in question are part of the ‘Monkey in my Chair’ programme designed to keep young leukaemia and blood cancer patients connected to their classmates while they undergo treatment.
When a child is diagnosed with blood cancer or a blood condition, treatment often starts right away and this can lead to absences from school which can be unsettling for the patient, their classmates and teacher.
Each Monkey in My Chair kit comes with two fluffy monkeys — one big and one small — plus a range of educational books, teacher guides and LBC resources
When a young person is away from school, the bigger of the two monkeys sits in the student’s chair, while the smaller monkey keeps the patient company while they are missing their friends.
Classmates are encouraged to include the big monkey in lessons and put messages and news into the monkey’s bright yellow backpack, to be shared with the young person who is in hospital.
Each Monkey in My Chair kit costs $100 and Neen wants to fund 10.
She knows how hard it is for young people to be in hospital frequently, often long-term. Her eldest daughter Amy, now 31, was diagnosed with cancer at just eight days old.
“One of her eyes was swollen.
She was sent for a scan, then at two weeks old she had a biopsy. We then had to go to Australia for tests as we didn’t have MRI scans in New Zealand at that time.”
Tests showed that Amy had cystic teratoma in her lymph nodes. Her first operation was at four and a half months old in Wellington Hospital.
“We pre-dated Starship. The cancer had formed before her bones had. There were four large tumours behind her left eye and she had no eye socket, eyebrow ridge or cheekbone.
“Every year after that she had surgery of some sort. She was born fighting though, and she kept fighting. After the first operation she had to be sedated as she was struggling against the tubes and wires. I’m sure that stroppy spirit is why she survived.
“Over the years we spent a lot of time bored in hospital. She would be away from her friends and by the time she’d get back she would have lost that social connection. She was always that ‘different’ kid.”
That social connection is why Neen decided to fundraise for the monkeys.
“You have to keep that social connection going.”
The loss of the ponytail is starting to sink in, Neen says.
“The ponytail happens before I get out of bed. And it only comes out after I go to bed at night. I was at an outdoor function recently and it got a bit chilly and I realised . . . this time next month I will be bald.”
There are more reasons for Neen to want to help cancer sufferers. It’s only two years since she lost her father to cancer. Her sister had succumbed to the disease just six months earlier.
“Amy was one of the lucky ones. Lots of the kids were were in hospital with aren’t here any more.”
■ To donate to Neen’s Shave for a Cure event, go to shaveforacure. everydayhero.com/nz/neen-kennedy