Merthyr boy, 9, donates hair after recovering from cancer

A nine-year-old boy has donated 12in (30cm) of his hair for a wig-making charity after losing his own to cancer five years ago.

Noah Moran-Wilshire, from Merthyr Tydfil, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018 and finally rang the bell in 2021.

He decided to part with his long locks after seeing the effect a wig had on one of his friends from the ward.

"Noah was very protective of his hair after losing it so I am very proud of him," said his mum.

Noah's parents first noticed something was wrong when he started showing symptoms of fatigue and leg pain.

"One day he looked dreadful. He didn't want to do anything, he was just lying on the sofa," said Kiera Moran.

"It just wasn't normal for a four-year-old to be like that."

Thinking it was anaemia, she took her son to the local out of hours service and, after tests, he was rushed to Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales in Cardiff.

"It was such a whirlwind of 24 hours," she said.

"One minute he had nothing wrong and the next I was told he had severe cancer and needed treatment straight away."

Ms Moran lived in the hospital with Noah for the first four weeks after being told he would need six months of intense chemotherapy.

During chemotherapy, she said Noah chose not to wear a wig as he thought it would be itchy.

"When his hair started growing back he was very protective of it, he did not want to part with it again," she said.

But when one of his friends from the oncology ward received a wig, Noah watched the difference it made and wanted to give someone else the opportunity to feel confident.

His hair was 22 inches (56cm) before he had the big chop.

Noah had his haircut in a local hairdressers where he was given a head massage, hot chocolate and marshmallows to make him feel like a "prince".

"We were really nervous about how he would react but he smiled the entire time, he was just amazing," said Mrs Moran.

It costs the Little Princess Trust on average £700 to provide one wig to a child or young person. Mrs Moran said Noah would love to raise enough for one person to receive a wig.

Wendy Tarplee-Morris, founder of the charity said: "We are so grateful to Noah to think of us and other children, especially after everything he has been through in his young life.

"We send our thanks to this brilliant and inspirational young boy."