Hair taunts didn't deter boy, 8, from selfless act

Christian McPhilamy started asking questions after seeing a TV commercial about pediatric cancer.

The six-year-old was inquisitive, searching online for information about sick children. Through his research, he saw a pop-up ad for a charity that provides hair pieces to children with cancer.

" 'Mommy, what's that?' Chris asked, recalled his mom Deeanna Thomas, 28, of Melbourne.

"I told him that's where you donate your hair to kids with cancer... to make wigs from your hair. And he said, 'I want to do that.' "

That December 2012 statement wasn't a fleeting thought. Christian started growing his locks out then, enduring unfavorable comments from other kids — and even adults — who didn't initially know his hair length had a purpose.

"Some people tried to call me a girl," Christian, now 8, said of his 2¹/₂ years of determination to grow enough hair to donate some to charity. The comments made him feel "not very good," but he never thought about giving up. "I just wanted to give a wig away."

He cut off all 12 inches of his long hair a couple of weeks ago.

Right before his parents helped chop it off, the hair was sectioned into four parts — one ponytail measured in at 12 inches, the other three just over 11 inches each. The Ocean Breeze Elementary second-grader followed the online directions, securing the locks with elastics, putting them in separate baggies and mailing them off to the Michigan-based charity Children with Hair Loss.

"I was blown away," said stepdad Scott Norris, 30. "I was just filled with joy and pride, and it was awesome. My little kid..."

Linda Dmitruchina, a volunteer with Children with Hair Loss, said the group is currently helping more than 335 recipients, four of them boys. Children ages 2 to 21 are eligible for a free hairpiece annually with a documented medical condition. Dmitruchina confirmed that Christian's donations had arrived.

Christian and sister Avalynn Norris, 3, have always had it instilled in them to give back to others, Thomas said. They routinely donate clothes and toys to sharing centers and others who need it. They leave popcorn and a dollar at Redbox kiosks to brighten someone's day. They'll do a "dollar dash," where they hide dollar bills in a discount store. They also have a soft spot for Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. (Christian was once a patient for a couple of weeks with toxic synovitis, a bacterial inflammation of the joints, Thomas said.)

When Christian was 2 ¹/₂, he wanted to give his Big Wheel to a neighbor who didn't have one. Why? Because the child not having one "wasn't fair," Thomas said.

"We try to bring both of them up where its not just about you," Thomas said. "It's about everyone. It's about everybody helping everybody, and everybody being involved in their community."

So when topics that might make some parents squirm — talking about children who suffer from cancer, alopecia and other diseases — come up, it's discussion material.

"We together as parents decided when our kids start asking about something, we're not going to lie to them or try to sneak around it," Norris said. "We're going to try to break it down as best as we possibly can."

Aware of the hardships faced by kids who lost their tresses — cancer patients, burn victims and so on — Christian was undeterred.

"His hair, we straightened it for the pictures before we cut, it but it was gigantically big, curly and long," Norris said of Christian being mistaken for a female in public.

Christian would explain that he was growing his hair to donate to children with hair loss, but that still garnered taunts and even suggestions by an adult that it was time to cut it off. (Once that person realized it was for a good cause, he offered a heartfelt apology, Thomas noted.)

But the civic-minded boy sure has plenty of fans.

Thomas said the reaction to her Facebook post of Christian's good deed — from "he's a little hero!" to " I could only hope that one of my boys would do something even half as cool as this" — has kept him beaming with pride.

His teacher and Cub Scout Den leader, Lisa Van Dam, said Christian certainly fits the "overachiver" bill and has seen him partake in prior community service.

"It is impressive that a child would put aside the possibility of not being accepted by his peers in order to help others in need," Van Dam wrote via email, noting she didn't witness any bullying herself. "Christian does have a big heart!"

Some kids have eventually admitted his move was pretty cool.

In fact, plenty thought he was a new student the first day he came back with his trimmed locks.

Contact Paulson at 321-242-3783 or spaulson@floridatoday.com.