Showing lots of love for Locks of Love
Freehold woman makes special donation to keep a promise to her niece
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
Lesley Taylor of Freehold Borough has not had short hair since she was a child and only one thing inspired her to trim her 30-inch chestnut mane — her niece Kaitlynn Koehler's illness.

ERIC SUCAR staff Kaitlynn Koehler, 8, and Herman Koehler prepare to make the first cut on the hair of Lesley Taylor, of Freehold Borough. Taylor, who is Kaitlynn's aunt and Koehler's daughter, made a donation to Locks of Love in honor of her niece, who was diagnosed with and treated for rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of 18 months.

Taylor decided years ago while watching Kaitlynn, now 8, undergo tests for cancer and chemotherapy treatment at the age of 18 months, that she would grow her hair long enough to be able to make a donation to Locks of Love in honor of the little girl.

Taylor, who turned 50 on May 5, wanted to do something memorable for her milestone birthday; something that would impact her in a way that would mean much more to her than just having shorter hair.

Kaitlynn is a pupil at the Crawford-Rodriguez Elementary School in Jackson. The family now refers to the youngster who loves softball and basketball and plays the drums as "God's Little Miracle."

Kaitlynn is doing quite well these days, but that was not always the case.

Her mother, Lori, said Kaitlynn was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in 2002. Tumorswere found in the bile duct of the child's liver and later in her pancreatic duct. Surgery to remove the tumors was required, in addition to the chemotherapy.

"We were told the first tumor (in the bile duct) was inoperable," Koehler said.

At that time the family was living in Florida.

"I searched and searched until I found a doctor who could work with and treat this type of tumor," Koehler said.

Koehler and her husband, Glen, (Taylor's brother), have three other children, Jessica, 19, Melissa, 15, and Dylan, 11.

She found oncologists Dr. Leonard Wexler and Dr. Paul Meyers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who both treated Kaitlynn and then referred her to the chief of pediatric surgical service, Dr. Michael LaQuaglia.

"Dr. LaQuaglia called me back in 10 minutes stating that he was the "Rhabdo Man," Koehler said. "He is the one who works with this type of cancer."

Kaitlynn had surgery in New York to remove the tumor in her liver in 2002, followed by months of chemotherapy.

As Taylor watched her niece go through all of the testing and chemotherapy, she promised that she would grow her hair and then donate it to someone and give a youngster a chance at having what so many cancer patients in the hospital no longer had — long hair.

"I wanted to give my hair to a teenager who would be going to a prom. I wanted her to have something special so she could look glamorous in long hair for the occasion," Taylor explained.

The usual requirement for a Locks of Love hair donation is 10 inches, but Taylor wanted some youngster to have the 20 inches of hair she has taken pride in growing all these years.

In 2003 a second tumor was found in Kaitlynn.

By that time, the Koehler family had moved to Jackson. Koehler recalled Kaitlynn's treatment and second surgery.

"She was so sick, but she survived all this for a reason," she said.

Kaitlynn is doing well now, but her mother remembers everything her daughter went through.

"She ended up with severe neuropathy in her hands and feet and had to wear ankle braces and had to have lots of therapy," Koehler said.

In addition to those problems, the child had to have a feeding tube for almost two years.

"We could never have survived this without this family," Koehler said.

Taylor works at Dr. Rudolf Borgersen's Freehold Township office and at the Freehold Radiology Group in the MRI department. She and her husband, Bob, approached the hair cutting experience with a bit of trepidation and a "stomachache," in her own words.

"I haven't had short hair since I was a child," she said. "People told me it would be liberating. I told Kaitlynn years ago that I was going to do this for her. I told her that she and my dad, Herman (Koehler), could make the first snip."

Surrounded by members of her family who came to share birthday cake and the special haircut, Taylor waited anxiously for hair stylist Kim Petrula to arrive.

While she was waiting, Taylor described how she went about finding the right candidate for her donation.

"I worked with a Locks of Love representative and we finally located a teenager in Florida who will be getting the hair just in time for her prom," Taylor said. "I want her (the recipient) to smile when she wears it."

In the aftermath of the haircut, Taylor said she is not exactly sure what her hair will do now that it has been cut. She said she will wait a couple of weeks, see how it reacts and then get it styled.

Bob Taylor surprised his wife by inviting a reporter to share her special story. He said he was proud of her and of the effort he knew it took for her to do this.

How has the experience affected Taylor?

"I feel different," she said. "A bit off-balance and awkward, but good. And I am very proud to have been able to do this."

In the end, it is this woman's philosophy on life in general, along with a selfless act she has taken for someone she has never met, that shines through.

"If you're not living life on the edge then you're taking up too much room. The framework for fun and adventure was built into me as a child by my parents, Carol and Herman. It was up to me to do the interior decorating," she said. Thosewho knowTaylorwouldmost likely say she has done an amazing job of decorating her own life, as well as the lives of others who are near and dear to her heart.