Beautiful long hair, a year and a half of perseverance, and a child’s decision to help someone else. This is how the story of Sasho – Petya Dikova’s son, who cut his hair and donated it to make a wig for a sick child, began.
The boy trains in swimming, and long hair was not easy to maintain. Other children sometimes teased him, but he did not give up on his intention. He told them he would become a surfer and continued waiting for the moment when his hair would be long enough to donate.
“For a year and a half, Sasho had been growing his hair long with the intention of donating it. As the mothers of boys—and of boys who train in swimming—can imagine, this was a major challenge,” proud mother Petya Dikova wrote about her son’s decision.
The hair was cut in a special way to facilitate the subsequent making of the wig. The “Dima Stil” salon refused to accept payment for the service. Inspired by the child’s gesture, the staff there also added an extra amount of hair donated by a random visitor.
A friend of Petya Dikova also joined the hair donation. She decided to donate real hair that she had previously bought for herself.
“The story could have ended there with a happy ending—one child decides to help another child,” the presenter recounts. However, according to her, the gestures that followed turned Sasho’s personal decision into a collective donation.
In Petya Dikova’s home, the subject of wigs has personal significance. Her grandmother Penka, after whom the presenter was named, suffered from alopecia – a condition associated with hair loss. That is why the family often spoke about people who need wigs.
Petya Dikova’s father, after whom little Sashko was also named, reacted most strongly to the gesture. When he saw his grandson with his hair cut and prepared for donation, Sasho Dikov was moved to tears. He then sat down, held his head in his hands, and said:
“What a thing life is. When I was Sashko’s age, I saw my mother with hair for the last time. Then the illness came—alopecia—and with it the headscarves, followed by the wigs.” the persistent journalist recalls.