Years in the making and finally after two years, a young boy is ready to give his family friend a completely selfless gift, sure to warm the heart.
On Thursday, two families met at the JCPenney's store at Westfield Brandon Mall where they started with an appointment for a photo shoot.
The purpose of the photo shoot was for Gabby Ruiz, 12, and her family friend Tyler Boone, 10, from Georgia.
The two have shared a friendship hundreds of miles apart after meeting years ago.
Gabby has no hair because since the age of four she was diagnosed with Alopecia areata, a hair loss disorder.
Although she has gone through different types of treatments, she's been unable to grow her hair, so Tyler decided he wanted to make her a wig.
For two years Tyler has been growing his hair -- so long, he's been mistaken for a girl too many times to count.
"I'm used to it now," he said.
But, with a smile on his face, the 10 year old went on about when he met Gabby, and how he just wanted to make her happy so he decided to grow his hair for her.
Gabby is a little shy to talk but has the perfect smile -- bright eyes and the best accessories from beanies, to a scarf, and perfect nails. It makes you not even notice she has no hair.
For nearly an hour, the two giggled and laughed during a photo shoot highlighting how long Tyler's hair grew.
They took pictures with a tape measurer showing Tyler's hair at 12 inches, then captured the moments as Gabby personally cut his hair.
The hair will be donated to a nonprofit, Children with Hair Loss, to make a wig just for Gabby.
Following the photo shoot, the two walked over to the salon inside the mall, where Tyler got treated to a new hair style of his choice.
Gabby, watched Tyler the entire time and uttered to him, "it's cool," while looking on.
After 45 minutes, Tyler revealed his new buzz-cut, almost unrecognizable.
A great new look to head into the New Year!
