ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — A young girl with cancer has received a special gift, a wig made possible through donations from both the Ann Arbor and Milford Police Departments.
It was during July 2020, during the pandemic, that Harper Mathis was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. The 11-year-old has been without hair since September, but over the weekend that changed.
On Saturday, Harper got a bright spot in her day, she received her first wig.
Helping raise the funds to make it possible, the Ann Arbor and Milford Police Departments. Harper’s mother Shellie Mathis is a police officer, working for Ann Arbor PD for the last 21 years. Her friend at Milford PD started the ball rolling to make this possible.
“Back in September when Harper lost her hair, Lt. Scott Tarasiewicz, from Milford PD, he contacted my Lt. Colleen McCarthy and told her that they would like to sponsor Harper,” Shellie said.
Milford PD hosted ‘Pigs for Wigs’ while Ann Arbor hosted a golf event "Putts for Harper." The combined donations helping raise the $1,000 needed to be a sponsor through Maggie’s Wigs 4 Kids.
“It meant a lot to me obviously being a police officer and seeing these two different departments come together and do this for Harper and my family,” Shellie said.
“If you can donate to a great organization like that, this is what the result is, Harper has a smile on her face and she feels more confident,” said Harper’s dad Justin Mathis.
Now Harper can’t wait for her Zoom classroom on Tuesday, to turn that camera back on.
“It boosted my confidence a lot, and now I will not have to turn my camera off for school and it just makes me feel more like myself,” Harper said.
To donate to Harper’s GoFund Me account click here.
