Debbie Does Hope

“Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” – Sophia Loren

Every year since I’ve moved to the desert I’ve hiked in the annual Hike For Hope, a fundraiser for the City of Hope. Many times I’ve hiked with Debbie but I’ll never forget the first time. I wish I had photos of it but I can’t find any anywhere (I think they were victims of my computer crash shortly after moving to the desert). Debbie was so proud of her “hiking shoes”. I think they were sparkly gold Keds or something similar. She was the cutest hiker I ever saw, very “Stylish” I must say…which is probably why today she styles all of our photo shoots.

In 2009 we hiked together in honor of my good friend Holly who had been diagnosed just before that with breast cancer. While we were hiking that Sunday afternoon Holly was in the hospital recovering from a double mastectomy. I had met Holly a few years before through my hiking club in Colorado where we both spent the summer. Debbie had never met her but that didn’t stop her from donning a “Holly’s Happy Hikers” t-shirt and hiking for Holly that day in the Indian Canyons of Palm Springs.

Little did we know that the very next year Debbie will have been diagnosed a few months prior with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Holly and her husband flew from Dallas, Texas to the desert to join us in the 2010 Hike for Hope as we hiked for Debbie. Holly and Debbie met for the first time that day and immediately shared a bond that I think only those who have battled cancer truly understand. This year’s theme was “Debbie Does Hope” (uh, my husband Jim’s idea, no idea where THAT came from) and of course that created a call for another custom t-shirt. Debbie had a huge group of friends and family that came in from as far as Washington D.C. to hike with us that day.

Debbie had started her chemotherapy and had a multitude of wigs given to her from a friend. Later that day we went back to Debbie’s house and we all had fun playing with the many colors of wigs. A dishwater blond my whole life, I tried on a dark brown wig. Everyone looked at it and said “Wow, you look pretty good as a brunette”. I ran into the bathroom to take a look in the mirror and I liked it too. Deb gave me her wig to take home and play with and two days later I took it to my hair dresser and said “Make my hair this color!” And so Debbie and cancer are responsible for me being a brunette. I think I was more eager and willing to try something new as I saw Deb’s willingness to embrace the changes she was going through. She would just whip those wigs right off. Itchy. Hot. Uncomfortable. She looked beautiful bald and she wasn’t afraid to show it. She had been to well-meaning seminars on how to put on a wig, how to cover up the cancer and pretend it wasn’t there. Turning Heads hopes to show that in spite of cancer and because of cancer we get an opportunity to see the true beauty that is both inside and out. It isn’t about always covering it up, though you’re welcome to if you want. But we want to show what’s really there and how beautiful that is.