Amelia Preston is Louisville’s best friend. If you’ve met her, you know exactly what we mean, because there are few people quite as reliable and caring. In 25 years, thousands of people have connected with Amelia while sitting in her stylist chair. Her stunning talent as a self-employed cosmetologist attracted loyal clientele that have stayed with her for decades in her hometown, Louisville, Kentucky, and in New York City, to which she regularly commutes for work. But it’s the compassion, support, and sage advice that she generously offers anyone in need that has built a fiercely loyal community around her. We need that community to come to Amelia’s aid now.

While Amelia is whip smart and tough as nails, she’s been under significant stress in recent years as she’s coped with a string of terrible circumstances. For both Amelia and her partner Louie, this includes suffering from long COVID, which has robbed Amelia of her olfactory senses and significantly damaged Louie’s heart. The pandemic strained their finances due to shutdowns and illness recovery time. Sadly, she now has an even more formidable challenge.

In mid-February, Amelia was rushed to the hospital with what seemed like a ruptured appendix. Instead, she was diagnosed with colon cancer after the surgeon removed her ascending colon and much of the surrounding lymph nodes and tissue. Though doctors initially indicated that she was in stage 3, Amelia received the crushing news on March 2 that her cancer is actually in stage 4, as cancer has affected her lymph nodes near her pancreas and liver.

As we post this on Wednesday, March 8, Amelia has been admitted to the hospital, where a surgeon will remove her gallbladder while installing a chemo port. If the surgeon can also remove the lymph nodes near the liver, there may be a path to curative treatment. If not, Amelia’s cancer team will turn to aggressive, long shot measures in which luck will play a primary role in saving Amelia’s life.

Right now, we must wait. While doing so, let’s focus on what we can control by coming to her aid. Amelia has a reputation as someone who works tirelessly to make sure that her community, friends, family, and even strangers are cared for. No matter how you know Amelia, you know that she has invested in this community by investing in all of us one by one. While it’s absurd that anyone would have to lean on friends for help with expenses when just trying to stay alive, we all know that’s the world we’re living in now. As her bills mount, let’s return the favor that Amelia would unquestionably grant any of us by donating to her, even if it’s just a small amount.

Testimonials

Heather Dodds

Amelia is like an aunt to my kids. She's been so supportive of my oldest as they've been working through their gender identity. She was also one of my dear friends who stepped up to help us stay in our house with our kids when a tragedy happened.

Hannegan Roseberry

Amelia is one of the smartest, fiercest, talented, passionate, and compassionate people I know. She’s wicked sharp, hilarious, and an amazingly gifted artist and human being. I’m so grateful to have gotten to know Amelia over the years and I hope she kicks cancer’s ass.

Erin McMahon

I’m proud to call Amelia a friend for so many reasons, not the least of which is her deep care for other people. She is affirming, supportive, dependable, and always ready to lend an ear. She has done so much to care for so many people, and now it’s our turn to care for her however we can.

Lauren Kelty

Two years ago, when I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, I knew exactly who was going to shave my head; I knew that she would take care of me.

Amelia invited me into her space at peak Covid (all the precautions of course), and she allowed my best friend, son, and partner to be there. I will never ever forget her putting her hand on my shoulder during a time that no one was touching anyone. She did not have to say a word, she seemed SO strong, SO caring—she was exactly who I needed in this situation.

Amelia suggested that maybe my 9-year-old son should be the one to shave my head—a way for him to process and have some control during an insanely scary time. After some instruction to my son on how to use the clippers, he began shaving my head. As he went in, and huge chunks started falling onto the floor, it really hit me. I stared into the mirror, with Amelia behind me. I looked right at her reflection, and she looked at mine. I stared at her the whole time, to focus, to ground myself. She never took her eyes off me, and she kept me together, she kept me from falling apart. Before I walked into her salon that day, I thought I had processed this. Sure, it was fucked up that I was going to lose my 2’ long hair, but it’s just hair, right? In any situation — the good, the bad, the break-up hair, getting bangs, getting cancer — it’s never just the hair. It is so much more.

Josie F.

Amelia’s an amazing friend and one of the most upstanding and kind people I’ve ever met. She did my hair through the early years of my gender transition and her support helped me discover and find power in myself. Kindness and love for humanity shines through in everything she does.

Eirlys

Amelia took me in when I was 17. Despite not knowing me or really anything about me, she raised me into the person I am today. I come from a family with a history of neglect and abuse; my birth mom abandoned me by the age of 16, leaving me homeless.

Upon learning about my situation, Amelia paid for a flight and set up a room for me in her own home. She paid for my food and new clothes for the winter season and then put a roof over my head. She even reached out to my birth mom several times with paperwork for her to sign that would allow Amelia to authorize doctors to save my life or treat me in case of emergency. Amelia saved my life, and she has done it countless times for me and so many others.

Amelia let me stay until I was prepared to be on my own shortly before I turned 19. Even after I moved out, Amelia always did anything and everything she could to help me. She's helped me make sure I kept my lights on in times I've struggled financially, provided excellent resources for physical and mental health care, helped me navigate difficult situations, and has just overall been an amazing support system for me.

I love Amelia with all of my heart as if she was actually my biological mother. She is the strongest woman I know and I look up to her so much. The idea of losing my mom is terrifying.

Suzie M.

In 2020, I had one of the darkest times of my life, and it happened to be an experience Amelia also shared. She didn’t have to reach out to me, but she did. I didn’t think I would make it through at the time, but her perseverance helped me get the help I needed. She even referred me to a therapist who saved my life and continues to see me to this day.

Liz Palmer

Years ago, trauma was destroying my mental health, and it felt extremely unsafe to talk about it. Amelia and I had not known each other long, but one day while in her styling chair, I found myself sharing my story. Her ability to make others feel safe in her presence is uncanny — and just what I needed. As my situation developed over the next few years, she became one of my most trusted confidants; miraculously, she always understood every twist in my story with perfect clarity almost before the words left my mouth. In the darkest time of my life, one that I wasn’t always sure if I could survive, she helped pave my path to recovery. Her impact is everywhere I look, as so many people, especially women and those struggling with their identities, have a similar story. Amelia is a radiant light in this community that must continue to shine.

Melanie Martin

I could write nearly a dozen pages on all of the wonderful qualities Amelia embodies. I could go into great detail, with examples, on how her comedic delivery is always on point; I could entertain you with some of her absolutely legendary, witty clap-backs; I could marvel at her ability to find common ground and engage pretty much ANYONE in a conversation or the way she enhances every situation, no matter how dull or awkward. Those qualities, and many more, make her one of the most fascinating and memorable people anyone will ever have the privilege of meeting.

However, the true essence of Amelia’s character lies in more substantive qualities. Words alone could never adequately describe what an amazing, genuine, and important person Amelia is – not just to me, personally, but to our community. To know her is to love her and to be inspired by her. Amelia is the kind of person who just inspires you to be better — a better listener, a more supportive partner, a more thoughtful friend, a more understanding human. She inspires people to see things from others’ perspectives, to hold themselves accountable, and make their personal growth and self-improvement a priority.

Most importantly, Amelia inspires people to act selflessly when friends and family are in need. I cannot tell you how many times she has gone out of her way, without being asked, to help me in my personal life, regardless of what is going on in her own life. Amelia has been known to take on more than she should handle by herself, even though she can because she is so strong and so thoroughly committed to the people she loves. Even on a professional level, most people who walk into Amelia’s salon know that once they sit down in that chair, Amelia is going to make them a priority and they are going to leave feeling better than when they walked in, even if they felt pretty okay to begin with.

The energy Amelia chooses to spend on other people’s well-being is endless and she so rarely asks for anything in return. As a close friend of Amelia for nearly eleven years, her support and generosity have been so great that I feel indebted to her. I do not believe I could ever be the kind of friend that she is to me, but I will never stop trying! I want to be the kind of friend that Amelia is.

In fact… a mutual friend of ours long ago instituted what I consider to be an official holiday:

“Be more like Amelia B. Preston Day.”

To be honest, I do not think one day out of the year is enough. We all need to be more like Amelia B. Preston every day.

Terri Whitehouse

Like many people, I knew Amelia through the grapevine years before officially meeting her. In our time spent together, mostly me in the chair, we have laughed, gotten vulnerable, and kept it real. Amelia personifies integrity and generosity. To say that she is fearless is an understatement — her commitment to her strong values is an inspiration. Amelia's capacity for empathy and kindness in the face of the cruelty and absurdity of life is admirable. She is the most righteous and radical woman I know.

Zechariah Harvey

My haircut from Amelia has been, so far, the only gender-affirming care I’ve really allowed myself. But after the first haircut, it was like I could see an entirely different person in the mirror, that I could be that entirely different person in the mirror. And it’s because I know she could see them first.