ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A local hair salon owner is going above and beyond to get results and lift the spirit of cancer survivors by using her skill to create smiles.
The owner of Touch of Class Beauty Bar, Christina Bernadotte, planned and organized a pamper day after asking cancer survivors to share their stories. She chose three survivors to pamper at her Altamonte Springs salon. She said she wanted to give back and make them feel special.
“Why not have a day where you can just get your hair done, make up and not worry about anything?” said owner Christina Bernadotte. “I hope they’ll take away that there are still people who care and want to hear their story and their story is worth telling.”
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The way 41-year-old Sparkle Porter sees it, there’s more to healing than medicine.
“When I heard the word cancer, I automatically thought of death,” Porter said.
She said she diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma IIB in January of 2014.
This mother of three knows she’s blessed. After several rounds of chemo, she’s been cancer free for more than nine years after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She said she went to the hospital for what she thought was just a stomach bug.
“I didn’t give up and I’m still not going to give up. My mom, she actually lost the battle to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, as well.”
She told News 6 she enjoyed being pampered at the salon. She said it made her feel so much more alive.
She and two other cancer survivors got everything from their hair done, makeup, lunch catered and so much more. It was a day to make her and other cancer survivors feel special.
“It’s just good to know that it’s still good people in the world,” Porter said.
Melody Thomas, 48, has been cancer-free for 13 years. “It was caught early, I had stage 3 endometrial cancer,” she said.
She said the pamper day was right on time for her. She’s still batting other health conditions and was recently laid off from her job.
“I’m happy because in the midst of something bad happening, something good always seem to come through,” Thomas said.
She wanted to remind women and everyone about the importance of early detection and getting checked – all as so grateful to the workers her touch of class beauty bar for making her smile again.
“Yes, [ I can] walk out a new person, “ Thomas said.
News 6′s Jerry Askin also featured the Touch of Class Beauty Bar and owner Christina Bernadotte during Black Business month in August. Read that report here.
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