SHE has watched helplessly as her best friend was diagnosed with alopecia, first losing her hair, then her eyelashes and eyebrows.
Now, ten-year-old Lea Turnell has offered to have her long blonde hair chopped off to make into a wig for her friend Elisha Hooley, also ten.
Lea said: "Elisha has alopecia and instead of giving my hair to someone I didn't know, I will do it for Elisha.
"I'm not going to miss my long hair and it will be helping Elisha."
The girls have been best friends since they started St Richard's Primary School in Marfleet Lane, east Hull, and Lea hopes her hair can be made into
a wig for Elisha before they start secondary school next September.
Elisha's mum Caroline Beadle, 35, said: "Elisha is a very emotional little girl and she is very worried about going to secondary school. She is scared some of the girls will say, 'Why haven't you got any hair?'
"All I want is to see my little girl smile again, as she's hardly smiled in four years."
Elisha has suffered a range of medical conditions, including anaemia and problems with her immune system.
Her mother had a difficult pregnancy and went into premature labour at 30 weeks before doctors managed to stop her giving birth too soon.
Elisha also has problems with her digestive system caused by her body's inability to absorb iron.
When she was six, her mum noticed Elisha's long blonde hair was falling out in clumps.
Specialists feared she was suffering from leukaemia before it was diagnosed as alopecia.
Ms Beadle, of Brigham Grove, east Hull, said: "Being told your child might have leukaemia is an absolutely heartbreaking thing to hear but, thankfully, she didn't have it."
Elisha's hair has continued to fall out and she has now lost her eyelashes and eyebrows as well.
Lea's mum Sarah, of Batley Close, east Hull, said her daughter was deeply affected by the death of her grandfather from cancer two years ago. He lost his hair during chemotherapy.
"She told me then she wanted to grow her hair so she could have it cut off and made into wigs for children with
cancer," her mum said.
"She's been growing it ever since and it is now way past her backside.
"We were just going to get it chopped off and sent away to a charity.
"But then, this happened to Elisha and Lea asked me if she could give her hair to Elisha.
"It's just an amazing thing for her to do. She'd just rather do it to help her friend than do it anonymously.
"It has just been so hard for Elisha and Lea just wants to try to make it easier for her.
"They are both starting secondary school next September and she wants to do it for Elisha before then to give her extra confidence."
Both mums are now launching a fundraising drive to raise £2,000 to pay for Lea's hair to be made into the wig for Elisha and are appealing for people to help them.
Ms Beadle, who has three older children, Dylan, 18, Declan, 17 and 15 year-old Callan, said: "We are looking for a function room to run a fun day and we're hoping some companies will come in and help us with prizes.
"We've tried to find someone who can help us make Lea's hair into a wig for Elisha, so we're also hoping someone can help us."
To help Elisha, search "Elisha's wish" on Facebook to make a donation.
