In July 2009, Tameka “Meechy” Monroe excitedly cut off all of her locks to join the flourishing natural hair movement and began a YouTube page to document her journey. Little did she know, she’d be repeating the big chop five years later for a different cause – brain cancer.
Meechy’s natural hair transition all started after she visited a salon that left her tresses shaved and brittle. Dissatisfied with the unhealthiness of her hair, she axed her permed ends and took took up video blogging.
It was there on her channel that she shared her favorite techniques, products and tips to naturalistas across the world, eventually gaining more than 38,000 subscribers and over 2 million views.
She and her sister Vaughn, another famed YouTube user (MsVaughnTV), then teamed up as “The Monroe Sisters,” traveling the country as social media and natural hair experts.
Life suddenly stopped Meechy in her tracks when she unexpectedly suffered an unexplained mild stroke. About a month after withstanding two more strokes, doctors finally diagnosed her with rare sarcoma, a type of cancer that causes malignant tumors to develop in the brain.
That was nearly two months ago. Since then, she has undergone two brain surgeries and in preparation for the procedures, she carefully snipped off her curls and donated them to Locks of Love.
With the help of physical, occupational and speech therapy, Meechy has made drastic improvements and is currently awaiting radiation and chemo therapy.
While on the road to recovery, the blogger is picking up right where she left off by posting weekly updates about her condition. The trailblazer has also launched a four-month campaign to help reduce the cost of her expensive medical bills. In just one day, she has already raised $15,000 of her $100,000 goal.
Follow her story on her blog and show your love and support for Meechy as she fights “the toughest battle of her life.”
#GetWellMeechy
