A 12-year-old girl in Plymouth, England refused to let vile comments from bullies get to her head when she lost her hair during chemotherapy. She was ridiculed for her fake hair, but she refused to quit school and became a warrior.
While demeaning remarks from others can sometimes discourage us, the young girl was just too strong to be affected by them. Sinead was bullied at school and was made fun of later by a group of girls.
The brave schoolgirl was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just before Christmas last year. Sinead initially suffered from a “poorly tummy” and was given treatment by her GP, but her health started deteriorating, including a bloated stomach and severe pain.
Sinead Zalick (12 years old) was in the hospital during chemotherapy. | Photo: facebook.com/plymouthlive
She was then taken to the hospital by her parents, Adam Zalick and Jodie Clarke, who had to stay with her in turns every week because of the pandemic. Sinead lost hair, and her family organized a fundraiser to fund her wigs. Her mother added:
“We’re happy to [share our story], if it helps another little human.”
Even though Sinead underwent a six-hour operation during which two stents were placed in her kidneys to unblock them, one of the tubes failed to do its intended job, and only one of them was successful.
Sinead’s mother said she “felt like the proudest mum in the world” when her brave daughter got ready for school despite the bullies remarks
https://t.co/AAidnlNTn5— Plymouth Live (@Plymouth_Live) September 21, 2021
Following her chemotherapy, the immensely courageous schoolgirl developed kidney failure and is waiting to see a kidney specialist. Sinead attends school at least three times a week despite her health problems.
[The girl’s] For girls of her age, it is important to be true to yourself and not judge a book by its covers.
Sinead’s mother explained that her daughter became a victim of bullying when she began making excuses for not attending school. She had been eager to go to school every day and make friends, so it was unusual.
Brave Sinead ignored the bullies cruel threat to ‘rip’ her wig off, and went to school without it https://t.co/anxITUHkvJ
— Katie Timms (@KatieTimms94) September 21, 2021
The bullying remarks became so serious that Sinead began skipping breakfast and her mother could sense something was wrong. A group of laughing girls stooped so low that they told Sinead her hair looked “**** and fake.”
Sinead’s mom, Jodie, then went to her school to figure out the problem and asked her daughter to stay home. Her brave daughter was dressed in uniform, and ready to go for school without her wig when she returned.
She shared she felt like the “proudest mom in the world.” However, Jodie wants other parents to realize the magnitude of bullying and how it can adversely affect children’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
This made me cry this was such a awful thing to happen to a girl that had gone through so much to come out the other side and beat the bullies they should be so proud of there daughter she’s so brave total respect
— lizzy123 (@Pipken60) September 21, 2021
The fundraiser set up for Sinead has collected £6,475 ($8,847.41) of a £10,000 ($13,663.95) targeted amount. Although the brave young girl has completed her chemotherapy, she still has a cancerous right kidney.
Sinead’s family says that the cancerous tumors can’t be completely removed, but doctors believe they are dormant. But until November’s scans, nothing can be confirmed.
Sinead advises girls her age to be true to themselves, despite all the bullying and derogatory comments.