"When Corrie was dying, I would stand by her bed and she said, 'Promise me my babies will know who I was and that I loved them, and that you'll help other people with cancer the way people have helped us,'" Sandy Gross tells people when they ask how she got involved in supporting people battling cancer.
And while her daughter Corrie Gross Bechtelheimer's 2014 death from breast cancer was a life-changing moment, the fight against cancer actually goes back much farther for Sandy, whose other daughter, Kristi Lowery, has battled the disease since she was a girl.
"Kristi – she's a five-time cancer survivor. The first time she had cancer, she was 13 – she developed a bone cancer in her back, her sacrum area," Sandy recalled. "Long story short, the neurologist who finally found it and operated told her she had three months to live... Well, we couldn't live with that, so we took her to St. Jude.
"The doctor at St. Jude said, 'Maybe they didn't have any hope for her, but we do,'" she continued.
Kristi's treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital started their family's lifelong relationship with the renowned faility that continues to this day. When Kristi's cancer returned when she was 16, this time in her lungs, she returned to St. Jude, and now she returns every couple of years for check-ups.
Kristi recovered from her fifth bout with cancer last year, more than a decade after she survived a fight with breast cancer that started in 2010. The most recent fight involved an incredibly rare type of cancer, one "fewer than 100 people in the world have ever had," Sandy said; samples had to be sent to the Cleveland Clinic for confirmation.
When Corrie developed breast cancer in 2012 and passed away two years later, it was a shock, Sandy said.
"I hate cancer. That's why I'm so devoted to trying to help people with cancer," she said.
During Corrie's battle with cancer, local residents supported her and the family, Gross said, noting the enormous financial burden cancer brings. The hashtag #teamcorrie became a rallying call not only for those supporting Corrie, but, after her death, for those supporting other cancer warriors in her memory.
Corrie's family, including Sandy and Kristi, established the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit, in 2015 in order to relieve some of the financial burden cancer places on patients in Union County. They started out providing $500 grants to local women fighting breast cancer, and have since been able to increase the size of the grants, first to $1,000 and now to $1,500 thanks to the community's support.
To date, Sandy said, they have provided $241,000 in grants to 227 local cancer warriors.
But, remembering Kristi's childhood battle with cancer, and all the children they met at St. Jude, Sandy decided she wanted to figure out another way she could help those fighting cancer, and that's how she got started making #teamcorrie Kids' Wigs.
"I actually saw another group that was doing it out of Alaska on Facebook a few years ago, and when I saw it – I had seen so many children, when my daughter Kristi was at St. Jude, lose their hair. It's such a hard thing for anyone to lose their hair, but especially children," Sandy said. "I thought – 'why couldn't we do something like that?'"
Princesses and pirates
The wigs Sandy – and a handful of dedicated friends – make are not made of real hair, horse hair or any of the other materials one might think of wigs being made of. Instead, they're made of yarn, specifically for children, and they are modeled after some of children's favorite Disney princesses and other heroes.
"They're character wigs. Like, we do Elsa and her sister Anna (from "Frozen")," Sandy explained.
But, there was one problem to working in that medium: Sandy can't crochet. So, she reached out to some friends, including Ann Southall (who declined to be interviewed for this story, instead pointing to Sandy's work) and Jean Floyd, who knew their way around a needle, for help.
Sandy and Ann have a partnership wherein Ann crochets beanies – "the part that actually goes on their head," Sandy explained – and sends them off to Sandy, who adds and styles the "hair" and any other accessories that are needed for decoration. Jean started out with a similar system, but now she makes the whole wig herself, Sandy said.
"I've known Sandy for 40 years and I love to crochet," Jean said. "When I saw that she was getting involved with this, I decided I'd help however I can."
It takes about four or five hours to create one wig from start to finish, Jean said – about half the time goes into crocheting the beanie, and the other half is spent adding and styling the hair. Jean learned to crochet as a girl, but she really got into the hobby about seven or eight years ago, she said. They started making the wigs around 2017.
"I put the yarn on with a crochet needle, however it needs to be done, and then use the hot glue gun to put the decorations. Some have flowers, some have little decorations I order," Sandy said. "We'll put little crocheted crowns and I'll decorate those with jewels or character things, things like that."
Many of the core Disney princesses are represented in the wigs Sandy, Jean and company make, including Jasmine (from "Aladdin"), Belle ("Beauty and the Beast"), Rapunzel ("Tangled") and Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty"), among others.
Finding long-haired, mainstream characters suitable to model wigs for little boys off of was a little tougher, Sandy said, but she's figured out a few that seem to please their recipients, and one has ended up being her favorite to make.
"I used to say we did Pocahontas, but there weren't that many choices for boys, so I said why not make that a 'Native American' one for boys and girls," she said. "And my favorite one, about the only one we do just for little boys, is Jack Sparrow, the pirate ('Pirates of the Carribean'). It's really cute. It's got long hair like Jack Sparrow, I put little beads and pirate decorations on it."
And Jean said she's recently found a few patterns that might help expand their line of boys' wigs.
"I found a pattern for a Superman one and a Spider-Man," she said.
Her favorite wig to make, though, is Belle's.
"I love the Belle. She is so pretty. Her wig has curls in it; she takes a lot longer, and a lot more yarn, but it always is so pretty," Jean said.
The vast majority of the wigs they make go to one of three children's hospitals: Arkansas Children's, Texas Children's Hospital and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Sandy called St. Jude first, but she said the hospital's infection control protocols wouldn't permit her to send the wigs there.
"We also get some special requests. I sent one to England, we had a request from a child there, and we've had requests from a few other children around the country," Sandy said.
Jean recalled recently making a Minnie Mouse wig specially-ordered for a young girl who had been diagnosed with alopecia, a condition characterized by sudden hair loss.
"The child was really young, maybe a year old," she said. "I found a pattern and altered it to fit, because these are usually for a little bit older child, the ones we usually make."
A Sunday School teacher since she was 16, Jean has a heart for children. The Crossett-native turned Camden-transplant, who is retired now, also has crocheted lap blankets for local nursing home residents and The CALL, which serves foster families in the region.
"Anything that's for a child, I'm for," she said. "We've seen a few of the pictures that people have sent back to Sandy of children in the wigs and they seem thrilled to have them. I enjoy the crocheting, so if it helps someone, that's all the better."
Sandy said making the wigs have been helpful for her as she continues to grieve her daughter.
"It's been really rewarding for me. It's a good therapy for me to know these kids are smiling," she said. "It always makes me smile to see them smile. They don't usually have a lot to smile about when they're being treated for cancer."
Sandy stopped keeping count of the number of wigs she'd sent out after they broke 1,000; she estimates that they've probably mailed 1,200 by now.
Emily Whitley, a volunteer coordinator at Arkansas Children's, said it's great to see the smiles the wigs put on the faces of the children who receive them.
"The wigs that Sandy makes for our patients are fun and whimsical and bring joy and light to an otherwise difficult situation. Medical hair loss can be very tough on both the patient and their family," she said. "We are so appreciative for the hard work she puts into making them for our precious children."
An ongoing battle
Those trying to make a difference for cancer patients have a never-ending job, and Sandy definitely sees her mission that way.
For one, she has to continue to keep her promise to Corrie, not only to give back to others in the community who are fighting cancer, but also to ensure that her daughter's children know who she was. Corrie's daughter, Sloane, has followed her example, helping her make one of the wigs during a visit last year.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, in 2019, nearly 1.8 million new cancer cases were reported and almost 600,000 people died of cancer in the U.S. For every 100,000 people, 439 new cancer cases were reported and 146 people died of cancer.
The Arkansas Department of Health estimated that in 2020, 17,200 Arkansans would be diagnosed with cancer. Between 2013 and 2017, Union County residents were diagnosed with cancer at a rate of 479 per 100,000 people.
The most common types of cancer diagnosed in Arkansas are breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
Cancer is also the second-leading cause of death in Arkansas. The ADH estimated that 6,730 Arkansans would die of cancer in 2020, and from 2013-2017, Union County residents died from cancer at a rate of 223 per 100,000 people.
The American Cancer Society, in a 2020 report, says $183 billion was spent in the U.S. on cancer-related health care in 2015, and the amount was projected to grow to $246 billion by 2030.
Indirect costs – like transportation to and from doctor's appointments, lodging when receiving care outside of one's home town, lost wages from missing work, secondary effect like purchasing wigs to deal with hair loss and more – also stack up for patients.
The statistics make it clear why the work the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation does is so important.
Earlier this month, the foundation held its biggest fundraiser of the year, the Paint the Town Pink Color Run 5K. This year, they added a competitive race in honor of Leslie Darden, a #teamcorrie grant recipient who passed away in May from cancer. Darden was a devout runner, a founder of the South Arkansas Hustlers running group, and had qualified for the 2020 Boston Marathon that was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also helped #teamcorrie raise money for cancer warriors, Kristi Lowery said in September.
The grants #teamcorrie awards are not just for women facing breast cancer. Sandy said in the lead-up to Paint the Town Pink that local men and women ages 4 to 84, suffering from all types of cancer, had received grants.
Sandy hadn't totaled up the earnings from this year's event when she was interviewed for this story, but she said this year's run – the 10th annual – had more than 300 registrants, and more than that showed up for the event itself.
Other local organizations also hold fundraisers for #teamcorrie, like the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout golf tournament and the Medical Center of South Arkansas' pink pancake breakfast. October is an especially busy month for the nonprofit as they recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The effort to make wigs, however, is year-round, and Sandy said others are welcome to get involved. Schools, Camp Fire clubs and other organizations have held fundraisers to help purchase the yarn used for the wigs – no costs associated with making the wigs aside from postage come from #teamcorrie funds – and Sandy wouldn't say no to more makers, she said. She's spoken to children and other groups about making them and done some demonstrations in the past.
To learn more about the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation or to get involved, visit teamcorriecancerfoundation.org or contact Sandy at [email protected].
Kristi Lowery and the late Corrie Gross Bechtelheimer are seen together around 2012. (Contributed)
Sandy Gross and Kristi Lowery of the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation take a selfie before participating in the Paint the Town Pink 5k in 2018. (File photo)
Sloane Bechtelheimer, daughter of the late Corrie Gross Bechtelheimer) stands next to an Elsa wig she helped her grandmother Sandy Gross make in 2021. (Courtesy of Sandy Gross/Special to Live Union County)
Bryana, 20 months old, peers out of a window at Arkansas Children's Hospital earlier this month. Bryana is one of countless recipients of the yarn wigs Sandy Gross makes for children fighting cancer. She's pictured here wearing a Belle wig. (Courtesy of Ashley Wagner/Special to Live Union County)
Bryana, 20 months old, smiles for the camera at Arkansas Children's Hospital earlier this month. Bryana is one of countless recipients of the yarn wigs Sandy Gross makes for children fighting cancer. She's pictured here wearing a Belle wig. (Courtesy of Ashley Wagner/Special to Live Union County)
Yarn wigs cover a countertop at Sandy Gross' home. She makes the wigs for children who are fighting cancer. (Courtesy of Sandy Gross/Special to Live Union County)
Sandy Gross and a local Camp Fire club show off some of the wigs Sandy's made after a presentation to the club about the project. Sandy said local organizations and schools sometimes hold yarn fundraisers, since the materials for the wigs are purchased out of pocket by those who make them. (Courtesy of Sandy Gross/Special to Live Union County)
Bryana, 20 months old, is seen wearing a Princess Jasmine wig made by Sandy Gross as part of the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation's Kids Wigs project. Bryana is currently a patient at Arkansas Children's Hospital. (Courtesy of Ashley Wagner/Special to Live Union County)
Bryana, 20 months old, is seen wearing a Princess Jasmine wig made by Sandy Gross as part of the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation's Kids Wigs project. Bryana is currently a patient at Arkansas Children's Hospital. (Courtesy of Ashley Wagner/Special to Live Union County)
Participants for the #teamcorrie Cancer Foundation Paint the Town Pink 5K run/walk fundraiser get sprayed with color powder by Camp Fire Club #97 in 2019. (File photo)