Randolph Ophthalmologist Grows Hair for Locks of Love
By Martha Slater

Randolph ophthalmologist Dr. Christopher Soares is looking a little different these days. Inspired by one of his patients, Haley Lary, he decided to grow his hair long and donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for people who have lost their hair due to illness.

"I’m hoping that my story might inspire others in the community to join me in sharing their hair, which many of us take for granted, with those struggling with cancer," Soares said. "As someone who is finding my hair thinning as I age, I don’t take a full head of hair for granted, but given what Haley and others go through, I would gladly shave it all off to help a child have one less thing to worry about in recovery."

Last February, Soares was contacted by Deb Lary of Randolph, who had concerns about her oldest daughter, Haley. Haley had been sick for weeks and had developed a drooping lid and a small pupil on the right side.

"After speaking with Deb, I was confident that Haley had a condition called Horner’s Syndrome, but needed to examine Haley to be sure," Soares recalls.

After Haley had a comprehensive eye exam, including a complete medical history and review of systems, the diagnosis was confirmed. Further testing at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD) resulted in a diagnosis of cancer, specifically a B cell lymphoma. The lymphoma had wrapped around her trachea (windpipe) and esophagus, making it hard to breathe or swallow. The tumor was also the cause of the Horner’s Syndrome.

During the aggressive treatment for the cancer, Haley had an opportunity to be involved in the Make a Wish program, and wished for a horse. Months after the diagnosis and after a courageous battle with many chemo treatments, the good news was that she was cancer free.

Due to Soares’ involvement with helping to take care of Haley, the family invited him to the Make a Wish party. At the party, Soares noticed that Haley was still bald from her chemo treatments, and realized that he could offer one more thing: hair.

"Haley and her family were truly grateful for my medical expertise in getting her diagnosed and treated in an expedient fashion," Soares said. "As a doctor I soak all that in and appreciate it. On the other hand, it’s not a stretch for me, because it’s what I do. Growing my hair long is my own personal stretch. I wondered, what people would think, specifically what my patients would think. At that moment, I was thinking that I would like nothing more than to grow my hair long and cut it off and give it to a 12-year-old girl who was without her own hair. I ran the idea by my wife and she said go for it."

Soares said his teenage daughter "wasn’t so thrilled about her middle-aged dad with long hair, but having donated her own hair to Locks of Love several years ago, whole-heartily supports the concept."

Soares adds that when people happen to run into a long-haired middle-aged ophthalmologist, "they should be aware that this is no middle-aged crisis or rock star fantasy—this is about doing a little something extra to help out someone in need."

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