Love Is in the Hair with Freya and Her Mother
In August, Freya’s mother donated her hair to #loveisinthehair. At that time, Freya herself had very little hair. Freya had lost all her hair due to a very aggressive chemotherapy treatment that destroyed her bone marrow.
The treatment was necessary so that Freya could receive new bone marrow from an incredible donor in Wales. Freya was born with a genetic mutation that caused the rare disease CAMT. The genetic defect meant that she was unable to produce platelets, and Freya has therefore been connected to Rigshospitalet since birth.
It was not until Freya turned two that we found out exactly what she was suffering from and how serious it really was. Until then, she received platelet transfusions from time to time and often had a lot of bruises and bumps due to bleeding. But CAMT would eventually destroy her bone marrow, and Freya most likely would not have lived to see her sixth birthday.
On May 28, 2020, Freya received her new bone marrow, and fortunately she is now well—as well as one can be after a bone marrow transplant. She is a happy, sweet, and cheeky little girl who will hopefully start kindergarten after Easter and celebrate her fourth birthday. A birthday that at one point was far from certain for her. When you suddenly find yourself with a little person who is seriously ill and needs so much help, you realize how much you can help others with things you once thought were small.
These small things mean everything to those who need the help. Freya is getting her hair back, but there are other children who are not, or who will have to wait a long time for it. They deserve to have beautiful hair too and to feel a little normal and healthy again. It means so much not to look sick all the time, and it is wonderful that you can donate your hair to a place like Toftild—just as you can donate your blood and bone marrow.
We simply feel grateful to be able to give something back. We will never be able to repay what we have received, but we can help a little. For most of us, hair grows back, so why not make someone happy with it and try something new.
