The faculty lounge of the St. Jude Regional Catholic School in Rockville, Maryland was transformed into a hair salon and barber shop on May 11 as a fundraiser called “Haircuts for Becca.” Becca Lally, a 5-year-old PreK student at the school, is undergoing treatment at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, where she is under the care of Dr. Jeffrey Stuart Dome, who is known worldwide for his expertise in pediatric solid tumors and the study of kidney tumors and sarcomas.
In February, what started out as a routine visit to the pediatrician when Becca was complaining of stomach pain, ended with a diagnosis of a Wilms tumor. Becca was admitted to Children’s Hospital and the next day began chemotherapy. In mid-April she underwent surgery to remove the tumor and affected kidney. Shortly after her recovery from the surgery, she resumed chemotherapy and soon returned to St. Jude Regional Catholic School, where she is in the PreK4 class taught by Caroline Hanlon, an alumna of the school, and Ana Rodriquez, a PreK4 aide.
Becca will undergo a total of 21 weeks of chemotherapy and several weeks of radiation. The doctors have given the Lally family much hope with a prognosis of a 95 percent survival rate. Becca will attend school as often as possible throughout the treatments, which she has weathered well so far, only being a bit more fatigued at times and having some sensitivity to heat and cold. Her taste buds have changed for some foods, but thankfully not for the foods she really loves, such as strawberries, avocados, and chopped salads.
Jeanne Donatelli, St. Jude’s principal, organized the fundraiser to offer support to the oncology department at Children’s National Hospital. Parents signed up for students to receive haircuts, making a donation in the amount of their choice. St. Jude’s School parent Tania Osinaga of Tania Hair Studio in Rockville volunteered her services to give haircuts to the girls, and school parent Carlos Martinez of Rhare Studio in Arlington volunteered his services to give haircuts to the boys. A constant stream of schoolchildren came and went throughout the afternoon, leaving the faculty room having been pampered with fresh hairstyles.
Becca’s parents, Jon and Michelle Lally, were both on hand to watch the event, along with their youngest child, Matthew, age 2, who received his very first haircut at Haircuts for Becca. Becca’s older brother, Timmy Trotter, made appearances throughout the day, while also attending his afternoon classes as a graduating eighth grader. Timmy will head to DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville in the fall.
Sergeant Jon Lally of the City of Rockville Police Department said that “St. Jude Regional Catholic School is a good school with a great community. Everyone rallies around to help each other out.” Michelle Lally was full of emotion throughout the afternoon, from helping Becca eat her lunch to filming toddler Matthew’s first haircut. She said, “This is overwhelming, we have received so much support from this community. They have shown ongoing love for Becca.”
Father Grzegorz Okulewicz, parochial vicar at St. Francis of Assisi in Derwood, one of the sister schools that helps support St. Jude Regional Catholic School, came by to have his beard trimmed. A friend of St. Jude’s parochial vicar Father Juan Pablo Noboa, “Father G” as he is known by all, participated in the fundraiser to show support for the school and Becca.
To top off the Haircuts for Becca, the school’s principal arranged to have the Clayboy’s Pit Stop's mobile unit serve its Hawaiian shaved ice throughout the event. A percentage of the sales for the shaved ice will be made directly to Children’s National Hospital Oncology Department in Becca’s name.
Michelle Lally reflected on this new challenge in her family, noting “it is a struggle balancing all of this and the three of them, Timmy, Becca, and Matthew, making sure they each have what they need each day.” The St. Jude Regional Catholic School community, which bears the name of one of Jesus’s original 12 apostles, St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hope and impossible causes, stands by to offer the Lally family support with these challenges.
(Michelle Ardillo, a freelance writer in Rockville, Maryland, is a retired catechist and Catholic school educator, having taught middle school language arts and religion for 16 years, six of which at St. Jude Regional Catholic School. She is a longtime parishioner of the Shrine of St. Jude currently writing a book on Marian apparitions. See more of her work on her website at www.michelleardillo.com.)
