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Almost two dozen members of the emergency services on October 1 joined a senior Hato Hone St John colleague from the Hibiscus Coast in shaving their heads and facial hair in a show of solidarity with his young daughter, recently diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
“Amelia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in early August this year which came as a massive shock to our family,” said Andrew Everiss, Hato Hone St John district operations manager for Auckland.
Treatment for the condition – a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that affects white blood cells – generally includes chemotherapy, whose side effects include hair loss.
“When we got the diagnosis I made a promise to Amelia that when she lost her hair I would shave my head. She requested a Mohawk, and how could I say no?”
When he mentioned this to friends, Zhann Smith of Hato Hone St John and Michael Upton of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), the response was, “if you are doing it then we all do it.”
“As a family we were then informed that Zhann and Michael, along with multiple colleagues and friends from Hato Hone, FENZ, Police and Defence were going to shave their heads in support of Amelia at an event hosted by West Harbour FENZ station,” Andrew said.
“On the day 20 people shaved their heads, moustaches and eyebrows for Amelia to show her just how much support she has and we do as a family from our Emergency Services whānau.
“Unfortunately Amelia was not able to attend due to her lack of immunity, but the team had a live link set up, so she did not miss a thing.”
Andrew said the support shown to the family has been “truly amazing”.
“Special thanks to our friends and whānau, Hato Hone St John, FENZ, Police, and Defence for their continued support and love during this time.”
He also praised the “truly spectacular” oncology team at Starship Hospital who have been caring for Amelia, saying they “have made our journey so far as comfortable as it can be”.
