Clare Bowen, the Australian actress and singer best known for her role as young country star Scarlett O’Connor in the hit series “Nashville,” has posted an incredibly inspirational message to young cancer patients.
Bowen, who battled cancer between the ages of 4 and 7, posted a photo of her new short haircut with the message “It’s just hair” and a heartbreaking story of her survival.
She was diagnosed with nephroblastoma, a kidney tumor that usually occurs in young children, and was at one point given only two weeks to live.
“Living at the White Palace (Grandpa’s nickname for the hospital) meant I grew up surrounded by children just like me,” she wrote.
“We were almost bald, everything was wrapped in tubes, tape and bandages and sewn back together. We were missing body parts, some obvious, like eyes or legs, others more hidden, like lungs and kidneys.
“Those who could still do it, tiptoed around like little fairies because the chemotherapy had destroyed the muscles in our legs and it hurt to put our heels on the ground. But we were all together, so no one’s appearance was questioned. No one was laughed at or teased. We were all we knew.
“And then I got really lucky. I survived, my hair grew back and I became strong again. On the outside I look relatively normal, but on the inside I’m still the same little patched-up being in a world where people are judged so harshly by their appearance.
“It was always completely incomprehensible to me. How can people believe that there is still time for this?”
She added that she was inspired to cut her hair when she heard another young cancer patient like her tell her that she couldn’t be a princess because she didn’t have long hair.
“I wanted her and others like her to know that this does not make a princess, a warrior, or a superhero,” she writes.
“It’s not about what makes you beautiful. It’s about what’s inside you… even if you’re missing half of it.”
“Every scar tells a story, every bald head, every dark circle under the eyes, every prosthesis and every reflection in the mirror that you may no longer recognize.
“Look deeper than just your skin, hair, nails and lips. You are who you are deep down. That’s where you shine the brightest. That’s where your true, beautiful self lives.”
My goodness …
If you do one thing today, it should be to read the full post here.
Photo credit: Joseph Llanes/Yahoo File
