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Valley teenager fighting leukemia throws his own 'hair-shaving' party

Posted at 10:31 PM, Feb 03, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-04 00:31:40-05

Kevin Winegar is a Valley teen battling leukemia who's throwing a party after recently being surprised with Super Bowl tickets. This party though is a "head-shaving party."

ABC15 attended to find out how the teenager is staying so positive during the ongoing fight.

"He loves to make people laugh. He makes me laugh. He helps people smile. He helped me simile for a little bit because there were hard times for both of us. He helped us both get through it,” said Rylyn Montoya.

Last month, underneath a mask, the 16-year-old was all smiles as the Arizona Cardinals surprised him with a pair of tickets for the Super Bowl.

"I am stoked. I am honestly speechless. Just speechless now thinking about it. It's been a heck of a time thinking about it,” added Winegar.

The Eastmark High School junior was diagnosed in December with leukemia. Since then, he's been going through chemotherapy.

"It sucks. It is cancer! I have some of those days where I am like, man, I don't want to do anything,” added Winegar.

During treatment, the teenager noticed a change in his hair.

"I saw it in the shower. I went through my hair. Yeah, it was just hair all over my hand. It was getting all over my body,” added Winegar.

He decided to chop it off at a hair-shaving party in Mesa with his family and friends from school.

"He's obviously more than just hair. This hair will eventually grow back. It was a surreal feeling to kind of cut his hair and know we are in this stage of life," said Winegar's father.

"It was mortifying. I was shaking. My chest was shaking,” added Winegar.

His friends followed with some doing the cutting.

"He's gone through so much more and hair grows, so it does not really matter to me,” said Brady McQueen.

What matters to Winegar and his family is inspiration.

"My kids will tell you I would be the first one to throw them under the bus. But, I mean it when I say he is my hero. He's been so inspiring, so positive,” said Winegar's mother.

The gathering at the teenager's house helped him feel at ease.

"We are all just showing we care about everybody. We are trying to include everybody and have a loving community,” said Atticus Minharo.

"I thought a lot less people would show up, honestly, I did not know this would be such a big turnout,” added Winegar.