Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

PHOTO BY RACHAEL ALEXANDER

Chappy raises cancer awareness

Heather Templeton

hntempleton@vwc.edu

Some may think, “So, Chappy cut his hair, big deal.” Well, really, it is a big deal. So why did he do it? In his words, this was an attempt to “raise awareness of all those who are heroes and have courage.”

These heroes he’s talking about are those on our campus who are fighting cancer. These are the people Chappy admires for their “grace and dignity.” His haircut is in honor of them.

Mr. Patrick Gainer is director of church Relations and stewardship here at VWC. He graduated here in 2005 with a B.A. in Music. He lives in Hampton with his wife Sherrie and daughter, Erin. On Aug. 3, he was diagnosed with a stage three brain tumor and was given ten months to live.

Mrs. Ronda Rothwell is a cashier in the Business Office. She was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in February 2006. Friday, October 5, 2007 she was declared disease free after eight weeks of chemotherapy and 33 treatments of radiation.

These are only two of the 3,400 people who are diagnosed with cancer everyday (National Cancer Institute).

I was numb from the information Chappy shared with me. He really brought it home when he said, “If it weren’t for my haircut, you’d never have come into my office and you probably never would have known.”

I realized how right he was. One haircut had changed my perception of community awareness and the scare of cancer.

Scared, is what Mr. Gainer is not. He admitted that after his first surgery he was faced with the realization of possibly dieing, but he came to accept it.

“It’s not the end of the world…we all have to die, at lease I have the chance to know what is going to kill me.”

This may seem morbid but Mr. Gainer’s attitude exudes an air of positive enthusiasm. Blessed, is the single word that stood out when talking with him. “We are so blessed,” he repeatedly said. He notes that there are so many other people who are struggling with the same disease but they do not have access to proper health measures or the quality of care he has received. He gets quiet as he mentions a 6-year-old girl he met who suffered from the same cancer as he.

“Until we are faced with [cancer] we don’t realize how many people have it.” he said. “Cancer is a scary word,” said his wife Sherrie. There is a certain stigma attached to people who have it. Fear is typically the first reaction.

Fear was Mrs. Rothwell’s reaction as well. She said.

“My husband and I were in shock and all I seemed to do is cry and ask why this was happening to me,”she said. “ I worked out all the time and ate the right foods. I had mammograms every six months and gave myself self breast checks every day after my shower. I thought I did everything right.”

Both Mr. Gainer and Mrs. Rothwell have mentioned that with the support of the campus community they were able to get through this trying time in their lives. He said.

“The love and prayers of this community is largely responsible for the positive response and attitude toward my treatments.” Grainer said Rothwell agrees. “I couldn’t have gone through this journey without the help of my family, friends, students, faculty and staff cheering me on,” she said.

It all comes back to the support of the community, the support from friends, and more specifically the support from Chappy. Mrs. Rothwell had this to say about Chappy’s haircut: “I thought Chappy cutting his hair to support myself and Pat was awesome. Chappy is an incredible person and we love him so much. I like his haircut. He should keep that style; it’s very hip.”

Mr. Gainer also appreciated Chappy’s act of honoring.

“Him cutting his hair exemplified how everyone has supported me,” he said. “ It was like the icing on the cake.”

So what is the big deal with Chappy cutting his hair? Chappy answered that question himself. He said that if he never would have cut his hair many people on campus would never have known the story of Mr. Gainer and Mrs. Rothwell. His single act of supporting his friends brought honor and awareness to their lives.