Published: March 22, 2008 11:29 pm         

For the love of her sister

Deb Tocco gets her hair cut in honor of her sister who died of leukemia

LOGANSPORT, Ind. — It had been 2 1/2 years since Deb Tocco last got her hair cut.

On Friday, she had all of her hair cut off, and she plans to donate it to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term hair loss. The organization has helped more than 2,000 children since it began in 1998.

The day was special for Tocco because she saw her sister lose all of her hair when she was diagnosed with leukemia 38 years ago.

Diana Demerly was diagnosed with leukemia in 1970 when she was 17. She lost all of her thick, blond hair when she underwent chemotherapy.

Tocco was 15 when Demerly died, but she still thinks about her sister every day.

Demerly had just entered her senior year at Logansport High School when she found out she had leukemia.

“Being a senior was such a big deal back then,” Tocco recalled. “I just remembered she was so excited about finally being a senior.”

Demerly was excited about being able to participate in cheer block. She was an avid Beatles fan who had taught herself how to play the guitar.

The sisters were close, Tocco said.

Tocco remembers when she and her parents, Bill and Doris Demerly, found out that her sister had leukemia.

“I guess it just all happened in one night,” she said. “I remember she was complaining of back pains. She couldn’t go to sleep. My mom made an appointment the next day here in Logansport.”

Doctors thought she had a kidney infection, but blood results showed she had acute lymphatic leukemia.

Demerly spent the next several months in and out of hospitals in Logansport and Indianapolis. Doctors gave her 6 months to 2 years to live.

Back then, there wasn’t much research on the disease, Tocco recalled. Bone marrow transplants had not been discovered yet.

In fact, Tocco said, 100 percent of her sister’s bills were paid for because her father’s insurance company called leukemia “the dreaded disease.”

Demerly’s health diminished quickly, and seven months after being diagnosed, she died.

Tocco remembers her sister’s funeral, and specifically, the wig she wore in her casket.

Three years ago, Tocco decided to get her hair cut in honor of her sister. It wasn’t long enough, though, so she had to wait.

On Friday, she got 10 inches cut off, which made up two braids. Six to 10 braids make up a wig for a child.

Lauren Kukkamaa, communications director at Locks of Love in Lake Worth, Fla., said the hair pieces allow the children to regain their self-esteem.

The hair pieces are custom-made, and allow the children to run, swim and play sports without worrying about the wig falling off. They can choose the length and color of their wigs.

Tocco said getting her hair cut brought back many memories.

“I had all kinds of emotions,” she said. “I was happy; I was sad. It made me think of her. I didn’t think it’d be this emotional.”

Although she’s happy she did it, Tocco says she wishes she could have donated her hair under different circumstances.

“I just wish I could be donating it for anyone, and I didn’t have the reason that I do,” she said. “I’d rather have her in my life.”

Tocco said the experience of growing out her hair had been emotional.

“It’s been a long three years,” she said. “But I did it for the love of my sister.”



Melissa Soria writes for The Pharos-Tribune in Logansport, Ind.