Leo Malsky sits while his sisters Aly, right, Anna, center, and mother, Gina, braid his hair just before his Gina did the honors of cutting it.
Submitted photo
West Pittston man donates hair to Locks of Love in honor of mother
After the deed was done, a happy Gina Malsky sits next to her son, Leo, holding a bag of his hair that will be donated in his mother’s name.
Submitted photo
Twenty-eight-year-old Leo Malsky donated his hair to Locks of Love in honor of his mother, Gina, on Mother’s Day.
Submitted photo
WEST PITTSTON – Mother’s Day is a one day a year where mom’s are honored all over the globe. It’s a special day for mom’s to gather with family, a special day to receive flowers and a special day when your son wants to donate his hair to Locks of Love.
That’s what happened to Gina Malsky when her son Leo, 28, presented that special gift to his mother on behalf of Gina’s mother, Jean Obrzut, and her best friend, Sara Pisarz, both of whom passed away from cancer.
Leo didn’t plan this alone. He had the help of his sisters, Aly, 30, and Anna, 25, to help him plan the surprise.
“Every year we try to give her a gift, and she never wants anything,” Anna said. “We always try to give her a gift and we tried to spin her a gift and a few years ago we donated to a special needs dance studio on her behalf.”
According to Anna, Leo never had long hair and she believed Leo wanted to do something special for his mother.
“How simple could it be to just donate my hair on behalf of mom,” Leo said.
The three siblings all live separately, Anna in Philadelphia, and Leo and Aly in West Pittston. The three together schemed up a plan over a group text.
“As we were tossing around ideas, Leo came up with the hair cut so we said, good, that’s perfect, we don’t have to talk anymore,” Anna quipped.
“Leo wrote her a nice note in a card and gave it to her in a bag with a pair of scissors,” Anna said. “She was confused at first, but when she opened the card and read it, she started to cry. So we braided his hair and gave the scissors to my mom and she did the honors.”
On Mother’s Day, Leo gave his mother a card noting his intentions.
“Mother, I want to thank you for all the love and care you’ve graced my life with. It’s truly been a blessing having you as a mother; you give me confidence and an everlasting feeling of joy. I want to show my appreciation of you on this day by honoring you with a donation of my hair to Locks of Love in remembrance of your mother and dear friend Sara, so that your great spirit can touch the life of someone who may need it most.”
“I thought it as kind of cute; it was a surprise,” Gina said. “He said I want you to cut my hair because I want to donate it to Locks of Love. He has super, super long hair, it was a shocker because he’s not that kind of kid.”
Leo’s sisters did the honors of braiding his hair before his mother cut it. “I think we cut off 13-inches,” Gina thought, but Anna said it was longer.
“We made four braids and we measured, two of the braids were 13-inches and the other two were 15-inches, so he’s walking around with wonky hair,” Anna, laughingly, said. “With all the barbers and salons closed, he’s forced to wearing a hat all the time.”
