Woman's long locks go to hair charity

It's been about 15 years since Kim Smith had short hair.

And she wasn't going to cut it again unless she had a good reason.

Smith, 30, a monitor technician on the step-down unit of the open-heart division at Southeast Missouri Hospital, donated her blond hair to cancer patients, in honor of two family members who have also suffered from the disease.

Smith's father, her husband's grandmother, and her great-aunt were stricken with cancer. Her father, Dennis Hunter, recovered from prostate cancer and has been in remission for 3 1/2 years.

Smith also said she developed a close bond recently with a patient who had cancer.

"I couldn't do it just for myself," Smith said. "I made my final decision Thursday night."

Smith said she had thought about donating her hair for quite some time, but didn't know for sure that it could be done until a beautician friend of hers told her it could.

Her hair, which reached below her hips, will be donated to Locks of Love, a charity that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 with medical hair loss.

Smith said several co-workers and family members tried to talk her out of it.

She said her husband, Jason, had doubts at first, but now "he's dealing with it pretty good."

Smith's mother, Jo Ann Hunter, was there to witness the event at JCPenney in Cape Girardeau.

"I can't tell you the last time she had her hair cut," Hunter said. "I think it's wonderful. She's always been a loving, caring person."

bmiller@semissourian.com

336-6611, extension 127