Boy Gets Cancer Striken Best Friends To Shave Off His Hair

A young boy has shaven his hair off to raise money for life-saving treatment for best friend who is battling cancer.

Oisín Ruskin, 6, said he wanted to 'look just like' his pal Lulu DeVries, who has endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, a stem cell harvest, stints in isolation, and radiotherapy.

The pair met on the first day at Great Denham Primary School, in Bedfordshire, just months before Lulu was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

And though her parents are hopeful the immunotherapy treatment she is currently undergoing will cure her, doctors have warned there is a 50 per cent chance of a relapse.

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They are now desperately trying to raise £162,000 for specialist treatment in the United States.

When Oisín found out he asked what he could do to help and offered to shave off his hair for her fund.

An adorable video shows Lulu taking the clippers to Oisín's locks and when he was shown his new look in the mirror, he said to Lulu: "I look like you now."

Lulu's dad Rob DeVries, 51, said: "It was a special moment.

"He's a determined young boy. At other fundraisers he'd go up to people and tell them what he was doing and then come back to Jo and say "Here you go mum. Here's another fiver."

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"I think he surprised everyone."

Oisín's mum Jo Ruskin, 40, added: "I'm so proud of him.

"He knows the name of the disease and the fact that there is medicine Lulu needs which isn't available in this country.

"I was speaking about fundraising ideas with my husband and Oisín overheard and asked how it all worked.

"He's a bit of a cheeky-chappy but he's also stubborn. You could hear him saying to Lulu 'don't forget about this bit'.

"It really brought them together as friends."

But they still have some way to go to raise the money needed for the potentially life-saving treatment and Lulu's dad is about to run 12 marathons in 12 days, for the cause.

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He said: "The amount is daunting but we can't put a price on our little girl's life.

"There's a 50 per cent chance of Lulu relapsing after her treatment ends. And of those who relapse 90 per cent of children die.

"With the treatment Lulu has a 90 per cent of surviving. So it's a no brainer really. She has been so brave, she is our little hero."

He added: "But we'll do anything to save our daughter's life and prevent a relapse."

To donate to Lulu's JustGiving page, click here.

Topics: Science, UK News, Interesting, Technology, Cancer, Health

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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