Getting a little help from friends

Here’s a news flash: Teen girls lose interest in hair care products.

For one Lakeland High School girl, that was the result of her battle with a deadly disease. For others, it was the value of friendship that made hair care seem irrelevant.

Michele Morgan, 17, was fighting her second bout of leukemia when her friend Chaleigh Bauer stepped in with a show of support. As the effects of chemotherapy were destroying Morgan’s hair follicles, Bauer and eight others shaved their heads at a homecoming assembly last fall.

It was this kind of solidarity that encouraged Morgan to round up her friends for a Relay For Life team this year. She is leading “Michele’s Angels,” who have been gathering donations for the American Cancer Society’s annual fund-raiser and celebration this week.

“I love Relay,” Morgan said. “I think it’s a good cause. The American Cancer Society has helped me out and I want to give back.”

Morgan has participated at Relay For Life in previous years, but this is her first year as team captain. Her nine teammates are a mix of adults and school friends who supported her through her illnesses. North Idaho Rental Co. is sponsoring the team and paid the entry fee.

Many of Morgan’s friends are band members. Morgan plays the clarinet and saxophone, Bauer plays trumpet, and Lakeland Junior High School band director Dennis Kimberling is on the team. He got to know Morgan through her involvement with the band.

“She’s always been a real determined person,” he said. “I think that’s been reflected in her fight with leukemia.”

At age 8, Morgan was diagnosed with this cancer of the blood cells. She won that battle, but lost her hair. She was in the fourth grade. The disease returned in a more serious form four years later. That required a stay in Seattle for a bone marrow transplant last spring, so Morgan spent her 16th birthday at the Ronald McDonald House. Her mother, Linda, planned a surprise party and friends traveled West to spend the day with her.

Bauer is one of “Michele’s Angels” and has been rounding up donations for the Relay team. She is no stranger to fund-raising, as it was part of the motivation behind the head-shaving event last fall. Donations were gathered at that time to help cover costs related to Morgan’s illness. Bauer remembers hearing other girls screaming and crying as they watched her hair fall to the floor.

Bauer didn’t mind. She thought it was a good thing to do so Morgan wouldn’t feel so alone. Bauer coped with the help of hats, scarves and bandannas.

“We learned that December is not the time to shave off all your hair,” she said.

Morgan beat her chemo to the punch this time by donating her own hair to Locks of Love before it could fall out. She is now in remission and keeps up with schoolwork from her Garwood home with a computer-based curriculum. She lives with her mother, father, Michael and brother, Sean. She plans to return to classes part time next year.

Morgan expects that this year’s Relay will be different for her than in prior years. In the past, she volunteered to keep the track alive all night. She and her friends stayed awake with piggyback races, cartwheels, singing and giddiness from helium balloons. This year she plans to schedule time for sleep. Many of her friends will be away on a band trip, but promise to call her from the bus.

Chemotherapy has left a curl in Morgan’s hair and made an impression on her classmates. Her closest friends swear that they have a good time together without going anywhere or doing a thing. They just enjoy each other’s company.

French horn player Cassie Thompson, another “Angel,” has been a friend since third grade and through both episodes of cancer. Knowing Morgan has taught her patience and “not to sweat the small stuff,” she said.

“I complain about my hair not curling, then realize that at least I have hair,” Thompson said. “She teaches me a lot about what’s really important in life.”