Heather Daly said that receiving a wig worth $1,500 makes her feel normal, and that's important for any sixth-grader.

"It makes you feel that you can fit in with everybody else, and that you're not standing out," said the soft-spoken 12-year-old, who had worn a bandanna to school for about a year to cover her bald head.

Last March, Heather started losing her hair because of alopecia universalis. Within a month's time, it all had fallen out - everything, including her eyebrows and eyelashes.

Some classmates said they thought she had cancer before they heard about Heather's medical condition. Although Heather's look was jarring at first, the students said they quickly got used to her bandanna.

"They just treated me like normal," Heather said.

She actually received her wig about a year ago; it came from the Angel Hair Foundation, an Oregon nonprofit that provides cranial prosthetics to children who have lost their hair due to medical conditions, usually cancer.

Heather said she didn't wear the wig initially because she had to get used to the idea of wearing it. "Kind of a big change," she said. She also needed to have the wig styled the way she likes it.

Now Heather wears the wig most of her waking hours.

She even wears the wig when her neighborhood gets in massive water gun fights - the boys-versus-girls kind.

Heather likes her wig so much that she's thinking of doing a fundraiser for the Angel Hair Foundation sometime soon. Her mother, Claudia Daly, said the foundation is a blessing because most health insurance programs - including hers - don't cover wigs.

Philanthropy wouldn't be a new venture for Heather.

Earlier this year, she and a few classmates organized a "Pennies for Peace" drive to raise money for schools in war-torn Afghanistan, which brought in $230, although not all in pennies, of course.

"We did it at my church, and it seemed cool," Heather explained.

Cheldelin Principal Lisa Harlan was impressed by how Heather organized a fundraiser.

"At 12, you just don't see that a whole lot. You picked a great kid to do a story on. She's wonderful," Harlan said.

Losing her hair might not have been as much of a challenge for Heather because she also was dealing with difficulties from what's now been diagnosed as Grave's disease. About two years ago, Heather started gradually losing her weight, strength and endurance and having heart palpitations.

Now she's taking medication for her thyroid gland to combat the disorder, and Heather's health has returned to normal for the most part. With her wig, so has her appearance.

Heather Daly

Age: 12

Occupation: Cheldelin Middle School student

Family: Mom Claudia, dad Chris, brother Sean, 23

Activities: Active in gymnastics, rides horses through 4-H, plays the alto saxophone

Future plans: Heather is thinking about attending Oregon State University to become a veterinarian

Notable: Heather was adopted at four months of age from South Korea

Kyle Odegard can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.