POTH, Texas (KABB/WOAI/CNN) – A Texas teen is no longer going to his high school after he was forced to choose between helping his ill sister or sticking by the school’s policy on hairstyles.
Eleven-year-old Maggie Johnson was diagnosed with Wegener’s disease, an autoimmune disease that affects her kidneys, in October 2019.
The treatments she’s receiving is causing her to lose her hair.
"Some spots in my hair like has come out, like started falling out,” she said.
That’s when her 16-year-old brother, Newt, stepped in. He started growing out his hair for Locks of Love.
“It made me feel good that I could do something for her,” he said.
But he hit a snag when the principal at Poth High School told him he’d have to cut it or he couldn’t come back to school.
At the beginning of the school year, students were given a handbook with hair policies.
"It really stressed me out because I already worried about my sister,” Newt said.
Newt stood his ground and did not get a haircut.
"I don't understand why he has to get in trouble for doing this for me,” Maggie said.
Newt spoke with his parents and decided to be homeschooled to avoid adding more stress on his parents.
He is still growing his hair out for his sister and says he also plans on helping others who are in need.
