Matt Shaha, who is 28 years old, did everything he could to help his mother, Melanie, find herself again. When Melanie lost her hair because of a benign brain tumor, Matt grew out his own hair for two years and made a wig for her. We are excited to share their story with our readers because of how close they are as mother and son.
Because of a brain tumor.
Shaha’s mother lost her hair.
Melanie Shaha, a mother from Arizona, lost her hair for good after getting radiation treatment for a benign brain tumor that kept coming back. Her son, Matt Shaha, who is known for his beautiful strawberry blonde hair, went on a 2-year trip to give her a new head of hair as a precious gift.
In early 2020, when Matt was 27 years old, he started to grow his hair out with this goal in mind. With hard work and patience, he took care of his hair and grew it to a long and impressive 12 inches. When the time was right, he was brave enough to give up his beloved hair, but not before making a beautiful plan.
The mother of six said, “The surgery to remove the tumor went really well.” Melanie Shaha talked about what happened to her and said that she had asked her doctor about the possibility of losing her hair. The doctor told her that she wouldn’t lose her hair. But 3 months later, she had a lot of hair fall out and started losing her hair, which was definitely a shock.
Melanie Shaha talked about her experience. She said that not having hair made her stand out, and well-meaning people said things to her that hurt her badly. She said that she didn’t mind being sick, but she didn’t like looking sick. When she went shopping, she preferred to fit in rather than stand out.
Matt had the thought to give his mother a wig.
During a family lunch in 2018, Melanie’s 28-year-old son Matt joked that he could grow out his hair to make a wig for his mom. At the time, Matt had just finished college, where there were rules about how long hair could be. But he was enjoying the sudden freedom of letting his hair grow out, and at that moment he had a thought that made him want to do something.
Despite her desire to regain her sense of self, Melanie didn’t want to burden her boy. She said, “When I told him, “I love your hair,” he’d say, “Soon to a head near you!”
Matt went to his mother’s house with a few of his coworkers when his hair was 12 inches long enough. There, they were brave enough to cut all of Matt’s hair off. After this kind thing, Matt’s cut hair was sent to a company in Newport Beach, California, called Compassionate Creations. Using Matt’s hair, the company worked hard to make a hand-tied wig, which they then sent to Melanie.
Again, happiness was found.
Melanie stressed how rare it is to find a business that will take donated hair and make a custom wig out of it. She said, “There are a lot of places where you can cut your hair and donate it, but there aren’t many places that will take your donated hair and make you a wig.”
Melanie felt like she was back home when she put her son’s long strawberry-blonde hair on her head. She saw herself in a mirror for the first time in four years, and it made her feel like herself again.
