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Davide Cohen |
When a rare disease claimed a loved son
Barber to the stars stages a charity fundraiser to help find a cure for illness that killed his boy
A BARBER to the stars is offering bargain haircuts to fund research into an incurable brain disease that claimed the life of his 10-year-old son.
Haim Cohen has run the legendary Life Barbers in Drury Lane for 20 years and counts Robert De Niro and Brian Conley among his clients.
But his life was turned upside down after the shock death of his son Davide from the debilitating brain tumour Pontine Glioma – a condition so rare it affects just 40 children in this country every year.
He told the New Journal: “He was such a bubbly, happy boy. He wanted to be a fireman and he was always tearing about the place without thinking about it.
“When he fell I just thought it was something from a football game or something.
“I remember asking the doctor how long he would live,” said Haim.
“They said two years. I didn’t really believe it. I thought we would find a cure.”
The “Get your haircut for charity” day, on November 4, is raising funds for Kiss It Better, run by Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Mr Cohen took Davide to Great Ormond Street in 2008 on what he thought was a routine visit after he developed severe headaches.
But he was diagnosed with the disease and died seven months later last September.
Mr Cohen, who has devoted his life to furthering research, said: “Davide was such a brave boy.
“I remember telling him everything was going to be fine. He just looked me in the eye, and said ‘Daddy, I’m not going to be fine’.
“He knew he was going to die.
“It was terrible. I remember his brother reading him Harry Potter as he slipped away.
“I think he could hear, but by that stage he couldn’t speak. His dream was to go to Eurodisney but we couldn’t.
“He couldn’t even move. It is such a terrible disease. Nobody should have to go through it.
“When I started to find out more about it, I was told there was not enough money to pay for research into the condition.”
Pontine Glioma is a type of tumour that starts in the brain. It can be fought back with radiotherapy, but it is much harder to treat. Its symptoms include loss of vision, internal bleeding and eventually resulting in the sufferer becoming paralysed.
November’s charity haircut day is the second event Mr Haim has run at the barbers.
The last one, in September, helped raise more than £700, and with haircuts set at just £15, and pensioners getting a bargain £8.50 rate, there should be a lot of hair on the floor next month.
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