Joey + Rory singer Joey Feek’s hair had begun to thin, so she asked her husband to shave it off for her. By the end of the night everyone in the room was supporting a military haircut.

Rory describes it as an emotional and joyful show of solidarity for his wife, who is battling cancer that doctors have said is terminal. She stopped treatments in October, and over the past couple of weeks has been mostly resting, but also visiting with loved ones. Her best friends, three sisters and father were amongst the people who shaved their hair off on Thursday night.

“When it was done,” Rory Feek writes at his This Life I Live blog, “and what was left of her pretty brown hair laid in clumps on the hard-wood floor… we all told her that she was beautiful. But I don’t think she believed us.”

“She looked different than the rest of us in the room and she knew it. She was strong of course, and forced a slight smile on her face, but it was a heart-breaking smile that had some fear beneath it.”

Joey’s 8-year-old niece Alyssa’s hair fell off as well, the male half of the country duo adds. Neither Joey or Rory are in any of the photos at this blog post. “And all of a sudden, Joey didn’t look different than the people around her anymore.  And a big beautiful smile came across her face and everyone else’s too.”

“Cancer can’t do that. Only love can.”

Rory has been documenting the raw, often harsh details of his wife’s cancer treatments at the This Life I Live blog. His touching words bring some beauty to the experience in addition to providing first-person updates about Joey's health. Earlier this week he asked fans to say a prayer for Joey at 8PM CT on Thursday. Thousands did just that online, or at home. In some places, hundreds gathered in hopes the power of prayer would help.

See Pics of Joey + Rory Through the Years

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