WATERLOO -- Forget good versus bad hair days. Amy Hoofnagle only has to worry about no-hair days. Hoofnagle, a nurse in the rehabilitation clinic at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, volunteered to shave her head to raise money for Lynn Nelson, a colleague recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

"It started off as kind of a joke," Hoofnagle said. "I said I would shave my head along with Lynn, then I thought if I'm going to do this, I might as well raise money for it."

"It's very sweet of Amy," Nelson said. "By her making it kind of a game, it got people's attention and shifted the focus off me, which I appreciate."

Hoofnagle turned the idea into a fundraiser for her fellow nurse, setting a goal of $1,000. Her co-workers created a contract that Hoofnagle signed, stating that if they raised that much money, Hoofnagle would shear off her lovely locks.

Nelson said all of the nurses in her unit pitched in and extended the challenge to the rest of the hospital. They raised $1,125 in a little less than three weeks.

Nelson said the support of her co-workers has been invaluable to her. She is a single mom with an 18-year old son who is starting college this year. Because of her medical bills and her son's college expenses, Nelson has had to move to smaller, more affordable apartment.

She added that while she greatly appreciates the fundraiser, she feels bad for Hoofnagle because she has such pretty hair. Hoofnagle doesn't seem to mind.

"I went into this knowing that I would shave my head," Hoofnagle said. "I knew they would raise the money. I'm cool with it. It's just hair. I figure it will help keep me cool in the summer."

The big event took place last week at the rehabilitation center at Covenant, in conjunction with a hospital bake sale in which proceeds went to Hoofnagle's fundraiser. As Hoofnagle prepared to be shorn, a large crowd of friends and co-workers gathered to watch and add encouragement.

As Hoofnagle settled herself in the chair, her eyes grew increasingly round. She slid her headband off her head and ran her fingers through her nearly shoulder-length hair one last time.

"Shake it while you can, Amy!" called an onlooker. "Any last words?" asked another in the crowd.

Kerri Abbott, a hairstylist with KJ and Kompany salon in Waterloo, said she was only told she would be shaving a woman's head the morning of the event.

"I have shaved my sister-in-law's head before when she was losing her hair to chemotherapy," Abbott said. "I kind of wanted to be the one to do it. I like doing stuff like this for a good cause."

When Abbott fired up her clippers, the room grew quiet. The silence quickly gave way to gasps and nervous laughter from Hoofnagle as the first locks of hair fell. The crowd started chanting, "Amy! Amy!"

A few minutes later, Hoofnagle was completely bald.

Her son, Xavier, was sitting at his mother's feet while it happened. He said he didn't want his mother to shave her head.

"It's crazy," Xavier said, running his fingers over his mom's scalp.

"He didn't want me to do it at first," Hoofnagle said. "He didn't want his mom to look like a boy, but once I explained it to him he was OK with it."

A cheer went up from the crowd as Abbott stepped back and Hoofnagle stood up amid camera flashes.

"I don't know what to say yet," Hoofnagle said as she felt her head. "It feels good, I like it."

She said she has already bought a head scarf to match her hospital scrubs, but plans to invest in a lot of sunscreen.

"I'll probably just go bald most of the time. It'll be way easier than doing my hair," Hoofnagle said.

Contact Samantha Donisi at newsroom@wcfcourier.com.