JANUARY 2018 38 | {stories of perseverance} A 2ND ACT Judy Pearson | CONTRIBUTING WRITER It’s said that Southern women never leave home without their makeup bags. Barbara MacLean was no exception. And that was a good thing on the day her sister, Charlotte, fighting metastatic breast cancer, asked Barbara to put some lipstick on her. Barbara asked why. “Because,” Charlotte said, “no one cares what you look like when you’re sick.” Barbara pulled out her makeup bag and announced, “Let’s play.” Within the space of 30 minutes, blush and eyebrows had been added to Charlotte’s pale face. Barbara fluffed her wig and gave her a hand massage. When they looked in the mirror together, Charlotte made Barbara promise she would do the same for others in the hospital. Now, 16 years later, Face in the Mirror, the organization Charlotte inspired, has given the same tender and loving treatment to more than 45,000 Arizona faces. “Hands-on personal care gave my sister energy and hope,” Barbara says. “When Charlotte died, three months after my promise, I called my interior design studio, and told them I was closing up shop. My new mission was more important than money. And I’ve never looked back.” When she started, Barbara’s dream needed products. She was able to procure $90,000 worth of supplies from personal care company Arbonne. “Rita Davenport was president then,” Barbara remembers. “I took her with us to visit a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Amazingly, it was a woman Rita had gone to high school with. That woman’s joy from of our services was overwhelming. And it really lit a fire under Rita. “Next thing I knew, I had another $180,000 in product, with a promise to supply us every year afterward. And Rita has kept her promise. After Arbonne closed, she brought Shaklee on board.” It’s a scenario we don’t often think about. Patients may receive cutting edge medical care in the hospital, but the staff simply doesn’t have the time to do more than the basic personal hygiene. Face in the Mirror goes those extra steps. Volunteers moisturizes faces, gives women the sprucing up as Barbara did for Charlotte. And men aren’t forgotten either. They, too, receive shaves, hair combing, and hand and foot massages. Face in the Mirror

JANUARY 2018 | 39 A 2ND ACT CONTINUED Before a Face in the Mirror visit, a patient at St. Joseph had refused to let the hospital staff turn on any lights in her room. She kept the blinds drawn tightly shut. Her illness, she said, had made her hideous. When Barbara and her volunteers arrived, they were warned of the woman’s feelings. “We’ll just put a little moisturizer on your face,” Barbara told her. “And then a little lipstick.” Next came the ooh’s and ahh’s of the volunteers, making the woman curious. A little light came on so she could see herself in the mirror. She became more enthusiastic. Some blush, a fluffy wig, and a little more light were added. “Oh my goodness!” the woman exclaimed. “Turn on lights, open the shades! Let me see!” Followed by, “Please take me down to the coffee shop. I look pretty!” Even children have experienced the gentle touch from Face in the Mirror. Those who are of make up wearing age get the full treatment. The others are treated to their famous hair styling, braiding and hand and foot massages. But as a mother, Barbara’s heart broke when, at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, she watched mothers sleeping at their children’s bedside. “Those women needed pampering, too,” she announced. And the organization expanded a little more.