Call it a sibling rivalry but Carter Puska wasn’t about to let his older sister Brooklyn start growing her hair without a bit of friendly competition.
“She said I’m going to start growing my hair for kids that need wigs and I said I’m going to try too and just started,” said the 9-year-old Ladysmith boy who attends North Oyster Public School.
That decision was over 2.5 years ago and now Carter is preparing to chop the 14 inch pony tail at his birthday party on Friday and donate it to Wigs for Kids BC - a partnership of the BC Children’s Hospital.
Carter’s mother Pam also might have played a small role in her son’s reluctance to visit the hairdresser.
“I accidentally shaved his head bald and it was shortly after that Brooklyn said she was going to do it and Carter didn’t want me to go anywhere near his hair,” she said.
Steadfast on continuing to grow his shag, there was a chance a few months ago to pay a visit to a stylist to even things out.
“I was going to trim it but then I was playing hockey that day so I didn’t get the chance to,” said Carter, who plays on a team as part of the Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey Association.
In April, Carter hatched a plan he had from the start to raise money for Wigs for Kids BC.
An initial goal of $3,000 was quickly surpassed and more recently he topped $4,000.
“The person who donates the most money will be the one who gets to cut off his ponytail and then a hairdresser will finish cutting his hair,” Pam said.
Little Valley Restorations has pledged $500 and owner John Neil said it was important to get behind the young boy in this “character-building” effort.
“You’ve got to support young people when they do things like this,” he said. “It’s a good cause and we like to support the local community and families because that’s who supports our business. I’ve got kids and grandkids and I think everybody has gone through having a family member who’s had cancer.”
However, the experience for Carter has had it ups and downs - mainly being mistaken a few times for a girl or teasing at the hands of some friends.
When asked about it, he casts those memories aside as no big deal.
“He would have teammates bug him, and they weren’t doing it to be malicious at all, but they knew the story and that he was doing it for something so that’s when he would get really upset,” said Pam. “He’s pretty good for the most at just shrugging it off.”
For hockey he uses a beanie to keep his hair in place behind his goalie mask and regularly gets compliments on his ‘flow’ - a term popularized in hockey circles to describe untamed hair that spills out behind a player’s helmet.
“They say I like your hockey flow…or I like your flow,” said Carter, his hair now tucked under his favourite hat from Beyond the Usual.
The Chemainus store has pledged $100 and the promise of a similar grey trucker style hat to the person with the top pledge amount come Friday.
“All the money goes towards helping to make the wigs but also to pay for medical expenses, or medications aren’t covered by medical plans for the kids,” Pam said.
Carter said he wasn’t sure what to expect when he started growing his hair but the daily maintenance sure wasn’t it.
“I hate that part,” he said, estimating he tries to brush it once a day. “It takes a while and sometimes it hurts if it gets all tangled.”
Carter said he feels proud to have raised the money and that another child will benefit by receiving a wig.
“I think they’re going to like it,” he said with a smile.
The public can help Carter’s fundraising efforts by visiting https://secure.bcchf.ca/SuperheroPages/main.cfm?Event=WigsForKids&Member=72643.
