CHICAGO — Meechy Monroe ditched her perm and weave in 2009 and gained a huge following on YouTube, her blog and social media by sharing her natural hair story and style tutorials.
But a series of strokes has left the 29-year-old video blogger unable to speak, and surgery required the West Pullman native to shave the hair by which she was so well-known. She was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer in May and will begin oral chemotherapy within the next week for up to eight weeks.
As she continues her recovery, medical bills are piling up, and her family started a fundraising campaign through GiveForward to help pay her expenses.
Only 24 hours after putting up the online campaign, it raised almost $20,000. As Monroe's sister, Vaughn Monroe, pointed out, that breaks down to almost $1,000 an hour.
Vaughn Monroe says the fundraising has inspired her sister:
As of Sunday, it had raised nearly $29,000.
"We were crossing our fingers for $1,000 [in total] to take care of some of the outpatient expenses," said Vaughn Monroe, 31, who runs her own natural hair vlog on YouTube and often works with her sister. "We had no idea that it was going to grow as fast as it had. We were floored by the support."
It all started in April when Meechy Monroe woke up one morning unable to film a new tutorial video. She said she was feeling a little strange and was having trouble speaking and concentrating.
"We couldn’t understand what that meant because she’s a speaker ... that’s what she does for a living," said Vaughn Monroe. "She's also a writer, so not being able to collect her thoughts was very unlike her."
After her physical condition worsened, doctors determined that she had suffered from a stroke. Not long after that, she had two more strokes, which led to her first brain surgery in May. During this surgery, the doctor found a brain tumor, and it became evident that the strokes were caused by a rare form of brain cancer, sarcoma.
"[The doctors] told us that this was one of the most rare occurrences that they had seen in their careers," Vaughn Monroe said. According to the Sarcoma Alliance, just 1 percent of cancer cases in the United States result from sarcoma.
The tumor caused Monroe "to suffer multiple strokes, which have led to certain physical and speech challenges, including an Aphasis diagnosis (a disturbance of the delivery of language — not at all linked to a loss of intelligence)," she explained in an open letter to fans posted on her site Thursday.
"She went from being this very articulate, well-spoken, very active, traveling individual to needing 24-hour care," Vaughn Monroe said.
In early July, Monroe underwent brain surgery for a second time.
Family, friends and fans continue to send dozens of flowers and cards and post messages on her social media accounts. When asked how Monroe is reacting to the support, Vaughn said "There were a lot of tears."
In 2010, when the sisters launched their YouTube channel, Monroe had 10 subscribers. Now more than 46,000 people subscribe to her reports on her hairstyles and tips, and tens of thousands more read her blog and subscribe to her social media networks.
After the YouTube channel took off, Monroe and her sister began touring the United States urging black women to embrace their natural hair, citing an "overwhelming lack in availability of information and knowledge regarding natural hair care in black communities."
"We're in the business of inspiration," Vaughn Monroe said, adding that before her sister got sick she was doing digital consulting for a national hair brand.
Despite Monroe's condition, Vaughn Monroe said her sister will continue to blog when she's not undergoing treatments.
"It may not be a glamorous hairstyling story or how to do your makeup or put together an outfit," she said. "But [people will] follow her in her journey of recovery."
In addition, Vaughn Monroe said she will be doing her part to keep their blog "thriving," so that when her sister is healthy, she'll "have something to return to."
The Monroe family and Monroe's doctors are hopeful that oral chemotherapy will help her body be more receptive to the radiation and stop the growth of the cancer.
"As long as we can say each and every project we work on, that we were able to inspire thousands of women, whether it's to pursue their dreams or to be more beautiful or accept themselves," Vaughn said. "We want to translate that through her medical journey. When she's all better, and more like her usual self, she's going to return to beauty blogging."
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