Hairstylist uses skills to help families at Riley hospital

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)– At 27 weeks, she weighed just 1 pound and had a long road ahead of her.

Amelia Pulley was born prematurely four 4 years ago. She was in the neonatal intensive care unit at Riley Hospital for Children for 125 days. The Ronald McDonald House became her mother’s home away from home.

Her mother Sarah Pulley said, “It’s huge. Ronald McDonald House is such an amazing place to be able to take care of yourself, but not take away from being with your family.”

Amelia Pulley is now a healthy 4-year-old, and her mother owns and operates a hair salon in Carmel called Three Seventeen Hair Design.

Pulley felt a calling to make a difference for those going through the same hardships she and her family went through. Her idea was to start with volunteering. “How can I best serve Ronald McDonald House and the people? … it came up that I owned a salon and she said there’s this space that they’re trying to put together.”

It started with donating a chair, then it turned in to her time and money, making the salon come together. The salon is located in Riley hospital, making it simple for parents going through a stressful time to get some much needed pampering.

“Whether it’s the next diagnosis, or issue that comes up, just giving you that little bit of strength back. It’s huge,” Pulley said.

She says if it makes a difference for just one person, it’s well worth it. “It’s just that one-on-one time with someone, just time to relax, to have that peace in the storm I guess.”