Mother Shares Heartbreaking Photo of Nurse Shaving Son's Head as He Fights Cancer

By Amanda Thomason June 23, 2018 at 9:43am

Nichole and Colin Brooks have a lovely family. There’s the two of them, their 17-year-old daughter named Raegan, 16-year-old named Sophia, and 2-year-old Wyatt.

The couple adopted Wyatt at birth. He had Down syndrome, and the Brooks welcomed him into their hearts and home.

But the road hasn’t been easy for little Wyatt, who also has heart defects and was recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

He started showing signs of something after a fun family outing at the beach. Nichole, 40, noticed some odd bruising and rashes, and was almost positive it was a sign that her son was ill.

She didn’t think it would be cancer.

“I was in total disbelief. There aren’t words to describe the emotions,” she said. “I believed there had to be a mix up in the lab. I asked the doctors if they were sure he had cancer every day for the first four days.”

“My heart shattered and I couldn’t breathe. I had no idea how we would get through this and I was terrified for what he would have to endure to beat this.”

She shared a narrative of the diagnosis on her Facebook page. “I am quite certain that the hardest thing I’ve done to date as a parent was tell my girls that their baby brother has been diagnosed with cancer,” she wrote.

“I am holding on for dear life and trying my best to keep people updated. The support we’ve already received as well as prayers and words of encouragement are beyond words,” she added.

Once she was able to accept that her sweet Wyatt really was battling cancer and he had started treatments, she knew she wanted to approach the treatment side effects head-on.

“Hair loss for many parents is so heartbreaking,” she said. “It is a very physical reminder that a child is sick. For us, losing his hair seemed like one of the very few things we can control.”

“Instead of focusing on the loss and sadness … we decided we would take charge,” Nichole said.

So on June 13, they arranged for a nurse to cut his hair at the hospital. That way, cancer couldn’t take it from them. It got to be their decision.

“We embraced it and baldness became an act of courage and bravery,” she said. “Cancer has already taken so much from him. We refused to let it take his hair and bring sadness into our world.”

Wyatt seemed to approve of the haircut, as well.

“I took him to the mirror and he gave the biggest smile then signed ‘beautiful,'” Nichole said. “He smiles and rubs his head every night when he’s sleepy.”

“Wyatt has earned his name, which means ‘brave in war.’ He’s fought big battles before and always conquers challenges. We expect he will conquer cancer as well.” Best of luck, little one!

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