The Pink Haired Survivor

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Lory Herrington had some trouble with her vision in late 2015. It started out like vision often does, slowly changing until it became a real problem. When she decided to undergo double eye surgery to correct her vision, her life would change forever, just in a different way than she was expecting.

The doctors discovered a small lump during surgery and notified her post-operation. What they found was only the tip of the iceberg. Lory had a large mass, which was promptly removed. The biopsy came back with a diagnosis for Stage IV Non-Hodgkins Follicular Lymphoma. Cancer in both eyes. Cancer in the face, neck, upper body and tumors near her heart stomach an in many of her bones.

The weeks and months that followed were not fun. She received chemo 2 days of each month for a grand total of 6 treatments, paired with immunotherapy. Lori dealt with bouts of depression and paralyzing fear of what would happen next.

But that just wasn’t her style.

She decided to go through it with one overwhelming emotion: joy.

She fought for her life, but she didn’t let the sadness in. She didn’t listen to the fear anymore. She greeted every day with a budding optimism and didn’t look back.

She had always wanted to make a big change to her hair when she turned 60. “I wanted to do something crazy with it,” she said. After the rigorous chemo regimen she received was over, she decided not to wait.

She came to our salon and met with Brandy to come up with a plan to really mix things up. She landed on a color change that simply made her happy to think about and celebrated her fight against cancer.

Bright pink it was.

“Pink hair was my ‘Forget it, I choose to live and Have fun’ statement.”

 

Brandy had helped Lory’s daughter, Heidi get the exact shade of platinum she was looking for when many others had tried. Lory thought if Brandy could help Heidi get a really specific color correct, she’d be the perfect fit to help her get the bad ass pink hair she was looking for. And she was right.

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“Brandy has been amazing at getting just the right shade of pink that I wanted and she always goes above and beyond to make sure it’s just like I want it. I love the dark purple roots too,” she says, “So many people comment on my hair! They love the shade and I always let them know about Brandy!”
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Pink was a color that not only represented her fight against cancer, but something that embodied her desire to approach every day with joy. It simply made her happy. Meanwhile, it makes us bawl every time we think about it. She loves the color and doesn’t plan on changing it any time soon.
Lory went in to the doctor that day in 2015 to change her vision and despite all of the pain and the anguish that she went through to get there, she sure as hell did change it. Her joyful spirit is an absolute inspiration and she lights up the salon every time she comes in.
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As of this writing, Lory is cancer free, or negative for disease as they say in the medical field. She is still receiving treatments for the next few months, but she still does every treatment with a glowing smile.
And that bright pink hair, shining under the lights, a luminescent symbol of perseverance, victory and more than anything else in the entire world, joy.

 

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