Heartbreaking: At Least 150 Wigs Intended for Kids with Cancer Stolen from Store
Dealing with diseases of any sort takes a toll on a person, no matter what the disease and no matter what their age. But when you’re a kid, it can be even more difficult to understand why you can’t look or act like the other children your age.
While one of the most common reasons for hair loss is cancer treatment, there are also other illnesses such as alopecia areata that have the same results. Kids who struggle with conditions that cause hair loss often feel singled out or embarrassed, even when friends and family shave their heads in solidarity.
Fortunately, there is a solution: wigs. It’s incredible how confidence-inspiring a full head of hair can be.
This year, there were several kids experiencing hair loss who were looking forward to greeting their first day of school confidently and proudly by donning wigs. But thanks to one or several greedy individuals, that didn’t happen.
Eva and Company Wigs of Vancouver was broken into Friday morning by a man described as having “long curly black hair,” according to the Vancouver Courier.
The business sharing a wall with the wig store was under renovation, and the thief was apparently able to bust his way in and then through the wall.
“They broke into that then took a crowbar and just smashed through the wall and came into our place,” said Frances Rae, manager of the store.
There was a good reason for stealing wigs, of all things: They’re expensive. Wigs made of real hair can go for around $2,500 each, making the thief’s 150-wig haul add up to about $375,000 total.
About 15 of the 150 wigs were pieces meant for cancer patients at British Columbia Children’s Hospital. Some of the kids had even held off from attending school the first week just so they could start school after they got their wigs. The robbery meant a lot of disappointment on multiple fronts.
One kind 6-year-old wasn’t concerned about her hair, though. After hearing about the crime, the little girl sent the store a letter saying that she hoped they were all okay.
Despite the kind young one’s reassurance, Rae knows the joy that comes when a kid receives a high-quality, real-hair wig, and knows this is quite a blow for the kids who will need to wait longer for their tresses.
“You know you can just see that look on someone’s face when it goes from sadness,” she said, “because you know they have a tube out of their neck and a tube up their nose and they’ve got no hair. And then when you put a wig on their head they just smile.”
There are ongoing investigations to try to locate the person or people behind the stolen wigs. According to the Vancouver Courier, Sgt. Jason Robillard stated in a press release that the thief may not have known what some of those wigs were earmarked for.
“It’s possible that someone is in possession of one or more of these wigs, and that they don’t know they’re stolen or that they were meant for sick children,” he said. “We need people to do the right thing and come forward with information.”
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