Jacey Abbott, an Alabama mother of three who says she has terminal breast cancer, put a question to Muslim readers: could she wear a hijab? About 1,900 replies came in within 11 hours.
Abbott had already bought a hijab and tried it on at home. The wigs she wore were hot and itchy, and the hijab felt comfortable. What she didn’t know was how someone who wore one for religious reasons would feel about seeing her in it.
A Muslim woman in Indonesia told Abbott she was welcome to wear it and could take it off whenever she wanted. Suzanne Abdelhaq recommended the kind of soft, lined cap her own daughter wears under her hijab, then asked Abbott a question in return: “Is it ok with you if I pray for you to have ease and comfort?”
Abbott wrote back that the hijab she’d picked didn’t irritate her at all. When another reader recalled the beautiful scarves a friend had worn during cancer treatment, Abbott laughed at the idea of dressing up: “I’m not fancy enough for that.” Cutoffs and T-shirts were more her style.
One man offered to send her a scarf as a gift. A woman who owned a small hijab shop in Europe offered to ship some to Alabama, even though she normally shipped only within the European Union.
The post reached 2.6 million views. Readers also found a fundraiser Abbott had started because she needed a car. She was still working full time, she explained on the page, and trying to make the most of the time she had left.
By November 7, her fundraiser, “Standing with a Mom Fighting Stage 4 Cancer,” showed $22,997 from 770 donations.