Florida Mom Shaves Head For Young Daughter With Brain Cancer

Brittany Sleeth Vivian Sleeth DIPG brain cancer

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Nov 02, 07:55 pm

Photo: (Photo : MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Vivian Sleeth's mom and stepdad noticed over Memorial Day weekend that when the Viera Elementary second grader watched television, she was looking sideways.

Brittany Sleeth, who works at Palm Bay Magnet High as a special education teacher, told Florida Today that when they asked her why, Viv said she was seeing double.

A simple trip to the pediatrician back in June to get the young girl's eyes checked turned into an unanticipated series of medical examinations and tests, including Viv undergoing a brain MRI.

Viv diagnosed with DIPG, a non-curable brain cancer

The findings were shocking to say the least. The energetic seven-year-old girl was diagnosed with DIPG, which is a rare terminal pediatric brain-stem tumor. The prognosis was not good with doctors only giving Viv six to nine months to live.

The news was a bitter pill to swallow for Brittany, who was suddenly told her child has a non-curable cancer. She and the family are not giving up, though. They will travel to Washington, D.C. this week so Viv can undergo experimental sonodynamic therapy.

Brittany said that Viv had to shave her head to be able to receive this trial ultrasound procedure. The thought of becoming bald made her child very nervous, according to Brittany.

Brittany organizes "Brave the Shave" event for her sick daughter

To help ease Viv's nerves, the family decided to conduct a "Brave the Shave" event for her. The event, which took place in the driveway of the family's Rockledge home on Sunday afternoon, was done to bolster her spirits ahead of the procedure.

Viv also made her presence felt in the event. She helped shave the heads of more than a dozen of her supporters while standing atop a pink stepstool. She carefully wielded electric clippers as she shaved the heads of her relatives and fellow kids.

Viv then sat in the chair for the grand finale. She wore a blue salon cape as attendees took turns cutting off her blonde shoulder-length hair. Adults bowed their heads as they cut Viv's hair and recited the Lord's Prayer. It was an emotional event as some even wept among the crowd of around 40 well-wishers.

Viv calmly sat in the chair with her hands folded in her lap. She chewed gum while chatting with her crying mom. Her grandma, Vicki Morton, then started shaving her head with the clippers as Sia's "Unstoppable" was heard playing from the speakers.

Viv then ran her hands across her bald head following her shave. She wore a blue ballcap that was decorated with embroidered dinosaurs. She then shared hugs with her little friends.

Viera Elementary Principal Adrienne Schwab said that Viv is amazing and she is a fighter. She added that Viv is a force to be reckoned with and she's just got such a positive spirit about her. Schwab said that she is just a little spark of energy and light in everything that she does.

According to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, only about 300 kids in the United States are diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) each year. DIPG is typically diagnosed in kids ages 5 to 9.