Baldo

So I am now officially bald. We took the clippers to my head after it got patchy and now I feel a draft on top of my head. After time spent on the web looking for hats and wigs and considering shipping times, and because the wig place at the cancer center is not open until the 8th, we decided we had to find a local option. I really had no idea my hair would fall out so soon after chemo, nor that it would fall out so rapidly. I guess I didn't know what to expect, as I mentioned yesterday.

We ended up finding a very cute wig and several hats and headcovers at Merle Norman, of all places. One of the headcovers is super soft and cuddly, and perfect for around the house or sleeping. I also got a hat that is pretty cute and wore it to the grocery store in the afternoon. People can still tell I'm bald with the hat I think, simply because its pulled so low and no hair sticks out. You catch the long glances as you walk by, people look at you a bit differently. Well, they can't catch what I've got, so they're safe. It's not horrible, just a bit disconcerting (the looking, not the cancer).

I guess the worst part of being bald isn't the looks thing per se, it's more about it being the outward manifestation of the disease. Up until now we "knew" I had cancer, but there was no cast or bandages. The baldness (and the dark smudges around the eyes that seem to be developing) show that there is something wrong. I was much more stressed while the hair was falling out than after it was gone, though. It seemed once it was shaved off it was final, and not an ongoing process, just something else to deal with.

Well, I have to go put on a fashion show of hats for Scott, so I'd better be off!