"No Hair? Don't Care!"

I have always been afraid to cut my hair shorter than shoulder length (because I like pony tails) and often grow it long. So, I was worried about the hair loss. Turns out...I don't care after all! I really thought being bald would bother me, but it doesn't. Not even a little.

I usually opt for hats in public. At home, I wear them if my head is cold. If not, I dare to go bare! I have a wig that I haven't worn yet. I did get it out and try it on recently. It felt weird! It is now brushed and sitting atop the Styrofoam head on my dresser. As a fun art project, Kaylee decorated the plain white head for me. I'm not sure my blush looks exactly like that and I certainly don't have long eyelashes anymore, but she did give me my blue eyes!

 

In the scheme of things, having no hair doesn't feel like a big deal. Having surgery, chemo and later radiation feels like a bigger deal. Even that stuff isn't as hard to get through as I thought it would be. There is no choice in the matter, you just put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. It is what it is. At times, it is even a blessing. I've met some wonderful people and had a lot of great care. I have seen friends and family members rally around me and I am much more mindful of all the precious little moments in life. I don't sweat as many small things. I hope these are the lessons that stay with me once my hair grows back.





 





"Tenderitisfullbrush"

I have a new ailment. I call it tenderitisfullbrush. The books, the nurses, the doctors and the breast cancer survivors all told me the same thing, that when the hair starts to go the head will be tender and maybe itchy. They were right. My head is tender and my brush is full.

I am now apparently in competition with my cat to see which one of us can shed the most. I am winning, by a wide margin! I brushed my hair several times after my shower yesterday and had to keep pulling the hair out of the brush. From this nice pile of my former hair, I fashioned a lovely toupee for my receding hairline husband. Sadly, he was not appreciative.

My hair is thick, so I still look like I have normal hair. I can tell that it is thinner, but I doubt anyone else can. But, it looks like I'm on my way to putting that Styrofoam head that has been hiding in my closet out on my dresser!

"Prepare for New Hair"

Since I am healing from surgery and Chemotherapy looms, I decided to be proactive and start taking a look at wigs. I want to be ready when my G.I. Jane moment comes. My Mom and I stopped by the cancer center gift shop to ask for ideas about where to look for a good wig. We were told by the nice lady volunteer that we had to look no further than right where we stood. I looked around and saw about five wigs on styrofoam heads, lots of hats and little gift items and sighed inside.

We followed her supervisor to a door that said "fitting room" and went inside. It was like an entire private wig shop! I've certainly never seen so many styrofoam heads in one place! I told the lady I wasn't ready to do all this right now, I just wanted to get ideas. She responded by asking if I lived in Boone County. I said I did and thought it was a strange question. Then I was blessed! She happily informed me that they have a grant from the Komen Foundation that allows them to give any Boone County resident with breast cancer a FREE wig and supplies! I was floored! What a wonderful gift. Just one more financial piece of the puzzle that we don't have to worry about!

So we went to work on finding the new hair that was "me." It turned out I liked the first one I tried, we just worked our way through some different colors until I knew we had the right one. It really looks amazing! She took my soon-to-be new hair, the super important foam head, the supply kit (did you know they even make wig hairspray?), and a wig brush and bagged it all up. I walked out with nearly $200 worth of stuff that will make me feel better about myself in the weeks to come and I learned that Komen is more than just pink ribbons.