Hair's a Cause to Celebrate

by Amy Fowler, Hill Country News

When Victoria Buehler, a 13-year-old Cedar Park resident, walked into Salon Austin Thursday morning, she was nervous, but still had a bright smile on her face. With a quiet voice, she introduced herself to her stylist, salon owner T.J. Stroda. When he asked her how much she would be cutting off, she meekly replied, 13 inches.” As she posed for her before picture, her apprehension was obvious - but she was determined.

Once Stroda handed her the 13-inch braid that he had just cut off, she gasped and couldn't fight the tears that welled up in her eyes, but the smile never faded. From across the room, her mother, Roseanna Buehler, wiped away tears of her own. Victoria had spent years growing her hair for just this moment.

Victoria felt like she had to give something back after winning the battle against a craniopharyngiome, a type of benign brain tumor doctors said would likely kill her by 2001. So she is donating her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that makes wigs for children with cancer.

In 2000, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor from her brain, and at that time, doctors told her parents she could wake up from the surgery as a vegetable. Even if she did recover, they said she would relapse and die within a year. Not only did she wake up without cognitive or physical impairment, she has continued to be healthy despite all of her doctors' predictions. They could not remove all of the tumor without removing part of the brain, so she still has a piece of it in her head. Roseanna said that piece should have re-grown into the size of a softball by now, but Victoria's last MRI showed it was shrinking.

“We give all credit to the Lord,” Roseanna said.

One reason Victoria decided to donate her hair was because she did not have to lose all of her hair for her surgery. Her brother has Down Syndrome, and between his and her own trips to the hospital, they were able to meet a lot of sick children, many of whom had lost all of their hair.

“I am really fortunate to have it,” said Victoria of her thick brown locks. “I am blessed to have it,” and wanted to share it with others. She had made the decision to donate her hair a few years ago, but did not seriously look into it until about a year ago. She and her mother researched several places that participate in Locks of Love, but none of them felt right. Stroda was different. Roseanna said when she talked to him, she felt for the first time she had found someone whose heart was in it.

“I thought, ‘Ok, this is it. This is the guy,'” she said.

During Victoria's haircut, Stroma talked with her about her ballet lessons, sharing his own experiences as a dancer. He said that he got involved with Locks of Love when a client decided to donate her hair about three years ago. Since then, he has had numerous clients donate, and has posted all of their before and after photos on his website, www.salonaustin.com. He even offers 50 percent off the $37 price of a haircut for donations. Children who donate get a greater discount.

Now, with her new shoulder length coif, Victoria plans to take a week-long trip with her youth ministry to Washington, D.C. Then she will start her first year at Cedar Park High School, where she is excited about her culinary arts and dance classes. After that, she doesn't know, but she still has a long road ahead of her. The tumor crushed her pituitary gland, and she needs to take growth hormones in order for her body to develop properly. However, with the hormones comes the risk that the remaining piece of tumor will grow again. Her mother said she is unfazed.

“She said, ‘I'm going for it. God has me here for a purpose and I am not going to let anything get in my way,'” Roseanna said, while she watched Stroda blow-dry her daughter's hair. “I'm just glad she is here to do this.”