Hair raising...

My gf had warned me that the window of hair loss was about 2 weeks...I had hair down to my tush and it was the longest it had ever been...I kept threatening to cut it but hubby liked it and to be perfectly honest, it was a bit of a security blanket during my pregnancy when I didn't feel very pretty....I knew my hair was gonna fall out despite all the people who'd like to say things like 'well, I knew this one girl who had chemo and hers didn't fall out' or 'your hair is so thick you might not lose enuff to notice'....whatever...LOL....the drugs I was on were the big dogs and if it could eat a hole thru cancer I figured my follicles didn't have a chance...I readied myself those first couple of weeks for the occurrence. The Sunday 2 weeks after my treatment, I took a shower and noticed that a bit more hair than usual was coming out in my hand. It wasn't in clumps or anything but dozens at a time. It doesn't sound like much but I knew it was sign of the times. My hubby & I decided it would be a good idea to cut it off so that at least it wasn't sooooo long as it shed. I put my hair in a pony tail and he lopped it off...oh, that reminds me, it's still in my bathroom cabinet and I really need to drop that off to Locks of Love...I'd spent my whole life dying my hair crazy colors and having it every length so this wasn't a big deal...yet, as I would discover...the next day's shower saw bigger chunks coming out and I found that it didn't matter how prepared I thought I was for it, it was still a bit disturbing for your hair to start falling out of your head from the root...there were a few tears that night, but once again, hubby prevailed in calming my nerves...and then there was the NEXT day...okay, we were exactly 2 weeks to the day from my chemo and the chunks of hair were getting even bigger...there were no bald spots on my head but I just kept envisioning those Barbies all us girls had that were old and their heads looked all sprigged out...I was NOT going there...my daughter knew my hair was gonna fall out and she was trying to be supportive but she still was sad about it...on that 2 week marker we decided to take total control of the situation and have a head shaving party...hubby needed a hair cut anyway (oh, btw, he may be 8 years younger but he's been prematurely bald for years) so when I pulled the clippers out to shave his head, we turned it on mine...I let my daughter help me cut big chunks out with the scissors and she thought that was just too cool...then we strapped on a quarter inch guard and everyone took a shot at buzzing off a strip...there it was...my big old head with very little hair on it...the pic over on the right side of the page was the day after we shaved me...very Demi Moore, GI Jane, don't cha think?!? There are many things that gals with hair don't realize about not having much...your ears get cold, you lose heat in your body thru your head, and wearing hats for too long gives you headaches...these were things I'd hafta get used too and thank goodness my husband has big old hands to rest on my cold noggin at night to warm it while we're watching tv...
over the next days & weeks the spriglets of hair that were left would fall out in the shower and the floor would look like my hubby's sink after he'd shave his beard...there were and still are days it bothers me more than others but all in all, it hasn't been so bad...no shampoo, no wet pillow in the middle of the night cuz you went to bed after washing your hair, showers take about 7 minutes total, and summers in Florida are hot enuff without 14 pounds of hair covering you up...I've never gotten a wig...maybe if I had to go to a job, I'd care but over all I throw bandanas over my egg when I take the kids to school so I don't scare their friends and have even gotten to the point I don't put anything on when we have company at our house...the rule is, it's my house and this is me. If you're uncomfortable with it, be glad YOU don't have cancer....