WALBRIDGE — Grimacing in pain from a port in her chest and a tumor in her leg, Valory Newton was
understandably not a happy girl.
But when asked to strike a pose for a photographer, her determined performer’s spirit showed itself. The
10-year-old flashed a mega-watt smile cemented between two dimples that immediately drew attention away
from the sparkly stocking cap on her head.
There’s no doubt that Valory, a competitive dancer since she was a toddler and fourth-grader at Lake
Elementary, is determined to beat cancer.
While her dancing days may be over for a while due to a diagnosis of osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer
in her left fibula, the baldness is temporary.
Thanks to the donation of hair by hundreds of people in the area, the Lake Elementary fourth-grader is
getting a wig made out of real hair.
The donated hair must be at least 10 inches and the family had to raise the $2,000 to make the wig.
When Valory’s mom, Dyana, and her Holland hairdresser realized the girl would lose all of her hair in
chemotherapy treatments, they put a plan in motion to make a wig that would try to replace the thick,
wavy mane of hair that stretched down Valory’s back.
More than 400 people contributed and 188 ponytails were collected. One came from a teen in Missouri; most
were ponytails cut off by her “sisters” at the Dance Factory in Perrysburg. In all, it was enough to
make 13 wigs.
Dyana said, in addition to the hundreds who showed up at Modern Chic Salon, people in the Lake Community
would drop ponytails off at their Walbridge Road home. Dyana ended up mailing 6 pounds of hair on her
own.
All of the hair donations were sent to a wigmaker and Valory’s new head of hair is expected to arrive in
a few weeks. A Go Fund Me page on Facebook raised over $2,700.
Valory was diagnosed in November.
She first mentioned the leg pain this summer, but it was dismissed by everyone as a symptom of her heavy
dance schedule. She was in competition and dancing more than 12 hours per week.
It reared again in the fall and Dyana, an emergency room nurse at Mercy Emergency Services in Perrysburg,
had it checked during a physical. The pain persisted and when it was followed by chest discomfort and a
swollen leg, Valory ended up in the emergency room.
November was a whirlwind: diagnosis on a Tuesday, oncologist on Wednesday, Ohio State University Hospital
on Thursday and Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo on Monday, followed by the biopsy on
Wednesday.
Thanksgiving was Thursday.
“Nobody deserves this, but she sure doesn’t,” said Valory’s dad, Tom, who is a pipefitter.
The chemotherapy started the first week of December and will run for 12 weeks. It’s designed to shrink
the tumor as much as possible so the February surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus goes
smoothly. That will be followed by 15 more weeks of treatment.
As cancer and the chemo batter her immune system, Valory has battled a fever and bladder infection, not
to mention a lack of appetite and the fear of yucky-tasting medicine.
There’s no doubt the cancer has changed the family’s already chaotic life, Dyana said.
“It’s the smaller things that you celebrate,” she said. “If she eats a piece of bacon, it’s good.”
Weeks used to be filled with dance, school and keeping track of four kids, who also include Thomas,
Alyssa and Brittany. Now, a good day is celebrated if the right combination of meds soothes Valory’s
pain.
“One time they gave me too much medicine and I was crazy,” Valory said.
The living room is set up for Valory’s comfort. The walls are plastered with banners signed with get-well
wishes by Lake Elementary students. A tiny pair of pink and black, zebra-striped crutches rests against
the couch.
“We were busy, then this,” Dyana said. “Your life comes to a complete halt. You have posers on your wall
instead of family pictures. Our life’s a lot different.”
For more on Valory and upcoming fundraisers, visit the Facebook page, Valory Newton – Support Our Dancer
in Her Battle With Cancer.