It is often said we will not comprehend the value of life until we are on the verge of losing it. We take our precious lives for granted but when life-threatening diseases like cancer makes us stand on the borderline of life and death, do we understand its true value. The bitter truth of life is that death is inevitable. It makes it even more unfair and unexplainable when it comes before the expected time. Not everyone fighting a disease is able to come out of it. Surviving cancer takes its toll physically, mentally, and emotionally.He was diagnosed with alopecia, an an autoimmune disease, when he was just five years old.
It didn’t make it any easier when he was bullied by other kids for looking different. “I was teased. People didn’t know if I had cancer or what … They thought I had cancer, and they still teased me,” he told the TODAY show.
This put him in a “dark place.” Things began to change for him when he fell in love with makeup tutorial videos on YouTube. This prompted Freeman to enrol in beauty school.
This is when the Pittsburg native decided to pay-it-forward. Rather than working with supermodels in the runway, Freeman visits cancer units. His self-funded project has him offering free makeover services to cancer patients. “I want to help people say, ‘I’m sick, and it’s awful, but I can still feel beautiful,'” says Freeman.
“Being sick, not having any hair — that is really devastating. But I can give you those eyelashes, those brows, and make you feel better,” he explains. “I know how untouchable makeup can make me feel.”
He hopes to expand his services further out. He has set up a GoFundMe page to help him with the travel expenses.
“I don’t want anything — one girl drew me a picture, and I loved that.I wish I could do 20 on Monday and 20 again on Tuesday,” he says. “It makes me a better person.I want to use my talent to help others.”
“There was a girl about 12 or 13 at a children’s hospital in Pittsburgh. She has no hair, and she’s missing homecoming, school dances, holidays … When I saw her mood, she was so positive. It warmed my heart,” he recalls.
“For her to be dealing with this at such a young age … I thought, if she can get up every day and be happy, why can’t I?” he says.
