BALD AND PROUD
RED OAK — There is a new trend in Red Oak and it’s not based upon the latest fashion. Rather, it began when a group of fifth grade boys and a third grade teacher wanted to help a friend. It trended with an entire community, who rallied together to bring hope to a local family, showing that the newest “cool” is being there for others.
June of 2011 marked a frightening and uncertain time in 10-year-old Cole Carlson’s life. He and his parents, Mike and Molly Carlson, of Red Oak, were informed he had an unknown type of Lymphoma.
Upon hearing the news, Cole texted friends, “If you haven’t heard, I have cancer and I am scared. I am gonna have to shave my head and I know I will look weird.”
At that moment, Jen Bruce, a third grade teacher at Inman Primary School, stepped into action.
“I knew we had to do something to help him get through this,” Bruce explained, “I asked my 10-year-old son if he would shave his head with Cole and without hesitation he said ‘Sure.’”
Carter, Bruce’s son, called a few of his friends and together they agreed if Cole had to do it, they would too. Having a “Shave for Cole” party became the main idea for a way Cole’s friends could support him and help him to feel more comfortable.
“That way, they would all be bald and look cool together,” Bruce said. “We were ready with the clippers whenever Mike and Molly gave us the word to start shaving.”
As the summer progressed, Cole endured several rounds of testing and biopsies to determine the type of lymphoma he had. Eventually it was determined to be Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Meanwhile, the word was getting out about the “Shave for Cole” party with more and more kids wanting to join in the cause and shave their heads for Cole.
By the time Cole was scheduled to begin his chemotherapy, it was also time for school pictures.
Per the Carlson’s request, the shave party was put on hold until the day after school pictures. However, in fear Cole would begin losing his hair, the family hosted a private shaving party of their own.
Cole’s dad, Mike, his grandpas, uncle, a close family friend and Cole himself joined together in going bald.
After the light-hearted event, Cole felt better about his bald head but still didn’t want to take his hat off and show people.
“He said he looked ‘bad’ and didn’t want people to see his bald head,” Bruce explained. “That is when we put the party plans into full speed. I just knew having his best buddies and other friends would help him.”
Bruce began passing out fliers for the “Courage for Cole” head shaving party, which took place at her home Friday, Sept. 2, and the Red Oak community quickly rallied together to help.
Several families donated hot dogs, buns, chips and drinks for the event while Cole’s 4H club served ice cream sundaes.
C&R Graphics made “Courage for Cole” hats for all of the boys who shaved their heads to wear.
Four people volunteered their time and talent to shave heads, Scott Bruce, Isaias Guerra, Nicole Vanderhoof and Summer Sandholm.
“We had no idea how many people were coming or how many were planning to shave,” Bruce said of the event. “It is a good thing we live in the country and it was nice outside because we had an awesome turn out.”
More than 100 people came to support Cole and 50 people shaved their heads.
Cole even shaved a few heads himself, as friends lined up for their turn to go bald.
The Carlson’s are avid ISU fans, so using that as her theme, Bruce and friends made a huge ISU poster for all the kids to sign. The poster represented not only their favorite team, but also stood for “I Shaved 4 U” from all of the kids that came to support Cole.
“It’s amazing,” Cole grinned about all the people who came in his honor.
“He had the biggest smile on his face all night,” Bruce said. “Now that he has started a new trend in Red Oak, he is not afraid to sport his bald head at all.”
Additional community support for Cole and the Carlson family has been demonstrated as well, such as the Carlson’s “camping friends” selling Courage for Cole bracelets, several people who have provided meals every week since June, the Red Oak Country Club hosting the Marlin Coates Golf Tournament in Cole’s name, Cole’s daycare family giving him an IPOD touch, and the several cards and messages they have received.
“He was talking about how thankful he is for all the support,” Molly, Cole’s mom, said of his reaction to everyone who has stepped up to help and support him.
“They (the Carlson’s) are overwhelmed by the abundance of outpouring love and support... they are very appreciative,” Bruce said. “That is what people do in small town Iowa. They are there for each other and get through tough times together.”
Cole will be receiving at least four cycles of chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at Children’s Hospital in Omaha.
The chemotherapy is expected to be followed by radiation treatments.
Recently, Cole has been able to join his teacher and classmates through Skype, which has helped him with participation in school and continuing his education. A Facebook page called “Mission C2~ Courage for Cole” shows updates on Cole and is a place to share messages with the family.
“Cole will get through this bump in the road because of the team he has behind him and because he is a tough kid with a huge heart,” Bruce predicted.
Meanwhile, when boys with bald heads seem to be “all the rage” in town, the community of Red Oak can take pride in knowing that compassion and cause is the reason so many boys have lost their hair.