Money can't buy Maizie's gift for Grandma

ABERDEEN — Eight-year-old Maizie Chapin wanted to give her grandmother something special this Christmas — a personal gift that could help Marion Chapin heal in her battle with cancer.

She wanted to give the gift of her own hair, with the idea that it could be made into a wig for Grandma to wear while losing her hair during and after chemotherapy treatments.

After reading a book in school about a girl with cancer who raises money to find a cure by starting a lemonade stand, "Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand," Maizie had her inspiration.

Cutting and saving the hair was the easy part. Finding and affording a wig maker to fabricate a wig from the long blonde strands proved to be a more difficult.

Now, thanks to the help of Anton's Hair, a specialty wig maker in Bellevue, Marion Chapin has a beautiful new full head of hair from her granddaughter and a Christmas gift she will treasure the rest of her life.

"I was so flattered and surprised," said Marion, 67. "It was such a beautiful, beautiful gift from her. She's a very bright child, and I can see her reading that book and coming up with this idea."

"She is absolutely tickled about it and was kind of speechless about the whole project," Stacy Chapin said of her mother-in-law's reaction. "What a thought — 'Grandma, I want to give you my hair for Christmas.' "

Maizie is a triplet with two brothers, and a second-grader in the Mount Vernon area. After reading the book, which itself helped seed an ongoing fund to raise money for cancer care, Maizie was inspired to try something similar.

The family put together its own story with photos of Maizie and her grandmother, even their own Facebook page, and that started everything falling into place.

The family has not only raised money for the wig but has collected more funds they will donate to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society in the names of Maizie and Marion Chapin.

"We mailed it on to our friends, and they mailed it on and friends sent it on. It's been absolutely amazing, people's response to this story," Stacy Chapin said.

The toughest part of the idea was the price of the wig itself, probably one reason many people don't have the opportunity to do something similar, Stacy Chapin said.

At first, the cost seemed staggering. It normally costs between $1,400 and $2,000 to have a specialty wig made.

But Maizie was determined and the letter-writing plan just snowballed into an outpouring of support, compassion and generosity.

"Two weeks ago, we were talking about having her hair long," Stacy Chapin recalled. "And then she starts talking to us about wanting to donate her hair. We were talking about who would get it, and she says, 'Why can't Grandma have it?' "

It was a question that stumped her parents.

"So I researched it, and there was nothing except a group known as Locks of Love, which takes generic donations of hair," Stacy Chapin said. "When you mail your hair to them, you don't get to pick the recipient."

She and her husband, Jim Chapin, also contacted the American Cancer Society.

"I was thinking that surely people have done this before, but I was told no one had, and the only chance I had was to find Anton the wig maker, who has been making wigs from human hair since 1952," Stacy Chapin said.

Anton Schoenbacher told her he was probably the only one in the Seattle area who could do the work if the family could raise the money.

So Maizie raised the funds through letters, had her waist-length hair cut and Grandma Chapin came up to Anton's salon for a mold of her head. Anton personally fit the wig cap for Marion then attached the fine strands of hair.

"Anton was very sweet. He just said, 'What a wonderful thing.' He told us, 'I have never had a project like this,' and he went to work on it right away," Stacy Chapin said.

Anton's Hair specializes in making wigs from a woman's own hair before chemotherapy's effects.

Anton usually has customers who bring in their own hair or have it cut off to make the wigs, which are fabricated by weaving individual strands together.

Maizie's request was a bit unusual, but she and Grandma Chapin were both blondes and the wig turned out just right. It's washable just like normal hair.

"She had a nice long ponytail, and we cut it off, divided it in half, and then her mother also donated some hair so we had enough to make the full wig," Anton said.

Over the years, Anton has made thousands of wigs for chemotherapy patients.

"We have found that the only real way to take care of it is for people to use their own hair as much as possible, and get it before they lose it," he said.

"In this case, that wasn't possible because Grandmother had lost her hair already and she didn't have any more."

The process can be emotionally draining more than uplifting.

"It's very mixed," Anton said. "When we cut the hair off, we see tears a lot of the times because reality sets in with the patients and they become very anxious."

Marion Chapin notes that Maizie fought back tears when she was getting her hair cut, but they now both share tears of joy at the gift.

Marion Chapin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years ago then recently was told it had reappeared, spreading to her lungs.

She is being treated with heavier doses of chemotherapy and draws support from her family, her husband, Jim, her friends and members of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, always maintaining a cheerful and determined disposition. She refers to her cancer as "another fact of life that you have to deal with."

"It was quite a surprise when it came back because I had no indication that anything was wrong," she said. "I was feeling great, people we're saying, 'You're looking good,' but I had a checkup and there it was again. There isn't a family out there that hasn't been touched by cancer in one way or another. It's overwhelming and in everybody's life somewhere."

Having her granddaughter want to help at such a young age is proof of that impact.

"I really do have a very wonderful family, and they are very loving and giving," she said. "I just feel my life is blessed."

Marion Chapin loves the wig and its results.

"It's such a loving gift from Maizie. Once she got the idea, it just bloomed," Marion Chapin said. "Now, when I put the wig on, it's like a transformation, because it's exactly the same color my hair was when I was younger. It's very, very special."

Maize also likes her hair in the shorter bob-style because she says it helps her run faster on the soccer field. It looks almost identical to the wig Grandma Chapin proudly wears everywhere.

The Chapin family — all 24 of Marion's children, grandchildren and extended relations — gathered together Christmas Eve and Maizie's gift was the highlight of the occasion.

It's a gift for Maizie as well.

"The gift we have given our daughter is beyond anything we could have expected. The fact that she feels she made a contribution is just amazing," Stacy Chapin said.