February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
When the Galway native and IIC event planner decided to shave her hair before she lost it from cancer treatments, two friends and colleagues stepped up to join her in a show of solidarity.
It was earlier this month at Phil’s Hair Salon in the Brighton section of Boston that Siobhan McHugh and Catherine Bradfield also went under the clippers to support “Gob’s Bad Hair Day,” as the fundraiser that grew from it came to be known.
Conneely was still amazed by their efforts over a week later.
“I’m very lucky to have friends like this,” she said, though it shouldn’t surprise Conneely, someone described as warm and compassionate.
“It’s true Gobnait,” said Sister Lena Deevy, executive director of the IIC. “She rises above situations.”
Said Bradfield: “It became more significant on the day it happened. We don’t talk about breast cancer until we know someone who has it.”
It didn’t surprise them, either, that Conneely wanted to make sure her misfortune had a positive outcome.
The one-day event has since morphed into a charity that will divide the funds raised between the Center for Breast Care at Boston’s Caritas St. Elizabeth Hospital, where Conneely is being treated, and the IIC, where she has worked for the last three years.
Conneely, who was on the Board of Directors for the IIC prior to her current job, was floored by her friends’ similar dedication.
When McHugh and Bradfield first agreed to shave their heads as well, Conneely’s first response was to question their sanity.
“I thought, ‘wow, what are you crazy?’ ” she said, but realized it was in “the spirit of friendship.”
“They are two amazing women,” Conneely said. “I’m very lucky to have these friends.”
Bradfield modestly explained that she had plans to shave her head in the near future, anyway.
“The moral is, when you call someone who is sick and ask, ‘Is there anything I can do?’ you had better mean it,” she said. “From now on I’m just asking if she would like some chicken soup,” she added. laughing.
Conneely, who started chemotherapy two weeks ago, is optimistic.
“I’m doing very well,” she said.
She recalled how when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, in November, “things were taken out of my hands, I had no control over anything.”
She decided to turn her helplessness into action when she realized she could take control of one aspect of her illness.
“It was a way to take charge,” she said of her newly shaved head.
A native of Mervue, Co. Galway, Conneely needed only a little time to figure out what to do next.
She described what was a three-pronged approach to “Gob’s Bad Hair Day” as “a way for me to take charge, but also get awareness out there, and start the charity.”
Even the shorn hair went to benefit a good cause. Locks of Love, a charity that collects hair to make wigs for disadvantaged cancer-stricken children, was the beneficiary of the three women’s hair.
Not content to rest, Conneely is now using her battle as a tool to get the word out to fellow immigrants, as well as all people about cancer awareness and immigration issues.
While she is having chemotherapy treatments, Conneely is working from home.
She said it is all too often that issues like health care and personal well-being get lost in the fray for many immigrants arriving in the U.S.
“For immigrant women, there are a lot more barriers,” Bradfield said.
Said Deevy: “It’s difficult because they think that since they don’t have health insurance, they can’t get screenings. They don’t realize that there are free clinics.”
“We know where we can send people who need help,” added Conneely.
Bradfield herself went for a mammogram last week, and reported that it took more time to find parking than the procedure itself.
“Prevention is key,” said Bradfield, who has been with the IIC since 2001. “As is early detection.”
The IIC plans to distribute breast cancer pamphlets to people attending their workshops, which are held throughout the Boston area.
“We are planning an information campaign,” Deevy said. “Gobnait want to make sure people are aware. She’s a courageous woman. We’re putting together information, where to go, clinics.”
There are pamphlets and information distributed at the various clinics that the IIC holds throughout the city.
“There are forums and immigration workshops, and we have worked to get the word out,” she said.
Besides being passionate about the new initiatives that the IIC will put into effect, there is the work the IIC has always done for newcomers that Conneely wants to see continued, and hopes the donations will aid in doing so.
“The important thing is to bring the work that the IIC does out there, so people know about it,” she said. “[The IIC] is a great resource. We do a lot.”
Founded in 1989, the IIC has been aiding immigrants to the Boston area with workshops, talks, and resources for arrivals new and old. Like many immigration centers, it serves as a meeting place and valuable resource for the community.
“The whole point is to get the word out and raise awareness,” Conneely said.
It seems the plan is working. Conneely said while organizing the charity, she realized that the support is coming, and not just from the Irish community, “but the community of Boston as a whole,” she said.
“We’re all very inspired by her,” Deevy said. “To see someone in their own struggle thinking about others, it’s always nice to see.”
(Donations to “Gob’s Bad Hair Day Fund” can be sent to the IIC at 59 Temple Pl., Ste. 1010, Boston, MA 02111. For more information, go to www.iicenter.org or call (617) 542-7654.