CALDWELL, Idaho — This summer, something really amazing happened at Sport Clips in Caldwell. It started out as just a regular day of haircuts at the shop, but then something happened that touched everyone who was there that day.
Lorraine Hernandez walked in the door at Sport Clips with her sister and her daughter by her side. She is battling stage 3 uterine cancer, and she had been losing her hair.
"I was diagnosed April 1st," Hernandez said. "My treatment is pretty aggressive. My biggest fear in this whole thing was losing my hair. I knew it was going to be hard for me honestly."
When her hair started to fall out, she decided she wanted to shave it, but she was really nervous.
"Once it started falling out more and more, I told my sister, I'm going to do it. I knew this was the place I was going to come to have it done," she said.
Stylist and Sport Clips manager Kayla Gray was working that day.
"I took her back to my chair, we sat down. When I start a consultation with a client, my hands go right in the hair. Her hair actually came out in my hands, so instantly my gut fell to my feet," Gray said.
That's when she realized Hernandez had cancer.
"She was like oh my gosh, and she gave me a hug, like really tight," Hernandez said.
Gray said she immediately knew she was put in this position for a reason, to help Hernandez through this process.
"She just wanted her hair shaved, but I felt that God had laid it on my heart in that moment to really be there for her," she said. "So, I offered, I said, I can tell you are scared, and you don't need to be scared because it's just hair. It will grow back when you are in remission, and it's just hair. Then, I offered to do it with her so it's not so scary."
Hernandez was sobbing, and right then and there, Gray spontaneously shaved off a portion of her long brown hair. Hernandez couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"She shaved off some of her own hair," Hernandez said. "Then from there she started on me, and the tears started flowing and I was nervous as the hair fell to the ground. Then, she stopped, and she started on hers again. She shaved all of her hair off. I was like, wow, this lady is awesome. She took it all off for me, and she kept telling me I'm not alone."
Gray shaved her entire head for her client. She said it was a show of solidarity.
"It was heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time, and I'm really glad that God put me in the right place at the right time to be there for her at that moment," Gray said.
Hernandez's sister Irene Salazar had her head shaved that day, too, to support her sister's journey. She says she is so amazed by the act of love.
"It was so amazing, it touched me so deep, she didn't even hesitate. She said you are not in this alone and grabbed her hair and started shaving it. We just all started crying," Salazar said. "It just touched our hearts."
The video of what happened that special day made it to social media, and the comments? They are just what you'd expect. They meant so much to Gray.
"They are really cool to see, I think for a lot of people just seeing humanity in the world is really needed right now," she said. "There is so much divide, and I think it's refreshing to see people care for strangers, just care for one another, that's so important we need more of that, just care for somebody."
Now, these two former strangers have a bond that will last forever.
"I love her a lot for what she did for me, I mean a total stranger? She has a special place in my heart for what she did. She honestly does," Hernandez said. "She's my hero, yep. She will always be my hero."
Hernandez has months of chemotherapy and radiation ahead of her, but she says she is ready to fight. To follow her cancer journey, or to help her with medical expenses, click here.