Photo Courtesy Of Kevin and Nicolette Stokes
Arkansas man Kevin Stokes shaved his head in support of his one-year-old daughter, Nova, who lost all her hair after undergoing chemotherapy.
According to Good Morning America, Stokes shaved off his dreadlocks, which he had been growing for 10 years, to match Nova, who lost her beautiful hair after starting chemotherapy in April. She reportedly receives treatment for her cancer diagnosis at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
The one-year-old was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in March, at just nine months old. According to the National Cancer Institute, neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that can affect children’s nerve cells.
“I decided that I would cut my hair to support her and also bring awareness to neuroblastoma,” her father told Good Morning America. “Because everybody always asks me, ‘Why did you cut your hair? Why did you cut your hair?’ and that gives me a chance to explain to them what we’re going through and her diagnosis and her specific cancer.”
Nova’s parents were reportedly surprised by their daughter’s diagnosis, which the little girl received when they took her to the emergency room due to a change in her normal behavior.
“All of that day, she [was] fine up until later that evening. She just seemed really tired. We [also] noticed that her stomach was kind of swollen so we took her into the emergency room because she was nearly unresponsive,” her mother, Nicolette Stokes, said to GMA “Yeah, when we got the news, honestly, we were devastated.”
Kevin added that cancer was the “last thing” on him and Nicolette’s minds when they took their youngest daughter to the hospital.
“It was really a shock to us because we knew she wasn’t feeling well when we took her to the emergency room,” the Arkansas man said. “I think cancer was really the last thing on our minds when we spoke with the doctors.”
However, the young child’s parents have been keeping the faith and documenting their daughter’s journey on social media.
“We are going to do whatever it takes, ranging from researching all night, or whether it’s moving to New York City on faith and just figuring out as we go, how we’re gonna get her the help that she needs,” her dad said.
Kevin and Nicolette mentioned that Nova is a happy baby as she “always wakes up with a huge smile” and enjoys dancing to the hit Disney film Encanto (2021) soundtrack.
The Arkansas couple started GoFundMe to help fund Nova’s treatment and expenses, and received over $20,000 of their $100,000 goal thus far.