CEDAR FALLS - Joy Owens' fingers fiddled with the salon chair arms.

Droplets of water dripped from her hair onto the black cape as she tilted her head to peer toward the back of Kate's on Main, where stylist Shar Roorda was mixing a coloring concoction for Owens.

It had been years since Owens had taken the time to get her hair colored, and she freely admitted she was a little nervous.

But it wasn't the coloring that had Owens' stomach flitting with butterflies. She was even comfortable with the cut that was to come later.

It was the full-on makeover and all the attention that came with it that had Owens' heart palpitating a little more rapidly Friday morning.

"This is pulling me so far out of my comfort zone," Owens said. "I am not used to this attention, but that's not to say I don't appreciate it."

Owens was the first recipient of a makeover fit for reality television organized by Kate's on Main and supported by about 17 downtown merchants. Kate Conlon, the salon's owner, said it wasn't so much that Owens' look needed the makeover but more that her actions deserved it.

"Her mother nominated her, and it seemed to us that she is a selfless and giving person and she has been through so much," Conlon said. "She is just a sweet person who deserves a day of pampering."

Family photos would show a happy husband and wife - she married Kurt almost 11 years ago - and three young, smiling children. But for all their smiles, there also have been many tears.

And they flowed freely on Thursday, as Joy Owens recounted the hardships her family has faced since the birth of her middle son, Matthew, eight years ago. Matthew was born with a congenital heart defect that has forced him to endure eight surgeries, including three open-heart surgeries, in the last five years.

"The first one, when he was 3, was supposed to be an outpatient surgery. He flatlined on the table twice," she said. "We spent the week in Iowa City, and that is when they told us he would need open-heart surgery to replace a valve."

At the time, Owens was just one month post-partum with her youngest child, Emma. Her older son, Parker, was 4.

Just as Matthew was preparing for his last open-heart surgery nearly one year ago - his body rejects the new valves after about a year and a half - Owens found a lump on her left breast. She said she knew it could be serious but was unable to focus on her own well-being until nearly three months later, after Matthew had recovered.

When she finally scheduled a mammogram, the doctor found one lump in her left breast and three more in her right. A biopsy showed at least one contained abnormal cells, and all were fast-growing. She underwent surgeries to remove them in November and February.

Through it all, the family relied on each other and their faith in God.

"Matthew's disease is something we live with, the stress of having a child with an illness that at any moment could take his life; a disease without a cure; an illness, that without a miracle will be lifelong. We live with that every moment of every day," Owens said. "It is all consuming, affecting everything for our whole family, and yet, I cannot let it consume me. … As a survival mechanism, we have to literally push Matthew's health to the back of our minds to just do what is in front of us at the moment."

And for one moment, Conlon hoped that Owens could focus on herself, letting go of the daily worries that come with being a mother.

"It was all a little overwhelming but amazing," Owens said. "I didn't really want to go in for the reveal - it was a comfort zone thing again - but it was wonderful. All the kids had a flower for me and Kurt had a rose. There were hugs and tears from everyone. It was a day I will never forget."

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.