An eight-year-old boy from Maryland intentionally grew out his hair so he could donate it to children with cancer.
For two years, Thomas Moore let his hair grow out because he wanted it to be made into wigs that cancer patients could use. With hair reaching down to his tailbone, Moore finally said goodbye to his long locks and recently had them chopped.
His mother, Angilea Pulos, beamed with pride as she took videos and before and after snapshots of her little boy, which she posted on Facebook under the account name Socue Soflien.
“He's breathing all hard and smiling so BIG right now!!!,” she said in one of her posts.
Amber Lynne, Moore’s aunt, shared the photos on Twitter, where it quickly went viral. The photos have been liked more than 120,000 times and retweeted more than 60,000 times.
my nephew grew his hair out for two years to donate to kids with cancer pic.twitter.com/YuamNNcMEI
— amber lynne (@storkpatrol) September 11, 2016
According to Pulos, her son’s touching story began two years ago when he watched the video of then five-year-old Kyssi Andrews, who lost her hair from chemotherapy.
Kyssi was diagnosed with Wilm’s tumor, a form of kidney cancer, on May 2012 when she was just three years old. She was given weekly radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
In November of the same year, she went into remission. However, after several months, doctors found out the cancer had spread to her lungs. With a diagnosis of stage IV Wilm’s tumor, doctors said she only had 30 to 40 percent chance of survival.
She went through several surgeries to have the tumors removed. She also received stronger chemotherapy treatments, which caused her health to suffer greatly.
After having another remission, her condition worsened yet again and, following a series of surgeries and treatments, the girl who kept her smile in the midst of her health condition passed away in June 2015.
Moore, after discovering that cancer patients who received chemotherapy lost their hair, embarked on a mission to let his hair grow long so he could give it away to those who made wigs for people suffering from cancer.
His was able to collect two long ponytails of thick mane that measured 16 inches each, which could make up to three wigs.
Moore’s story has been shared and reshared on social media. His incredible, heart-warming account has also been featured in several media outlets.
He is set to receive the Acts of Kindness Award from the Acts of Kindness foundation. The award will be given on October 14 at the Muhammad Ali Center in Kentucky, according to Mashable.
