I’m loving my new hair. It is so soft–like a baby’s–and seems to be growing every day. Truthfully, there still isn’t enough avoid the “bald” or “cancer survivor” look–it’s just a bit more than a 5 o’clock shadow– but it’s enough to make me grin every time I look in the mirror. Or every time I happen to rub my head (which is often.)

 

I’m also growing Groucho Marx eyebrows, which make me laugh even harder. About a week ago I noticed the same “shadow” effect above my eyes, and saw a wide swath of dark emerging. I know it won’t be long before I run to the get them waxed into a better shape, but right now I’m finding them quite humorous. I’d like to see how bushy they can get.

And I have teeny, tiny little eyelashes growing in. I didn’t lose my last long eyelash until these started growing, so it worked out pretty well. I’d stopped using mascara about 1 month ago because there were so few left that it only accented the missing ones. Now I have a tight row of 0.5 cm lashes growing, barely enough to see. I’ve heard that they grow straight down and don’t curl for awhile so I may be digging out my eyelash curler.

The hair on top is a dark but indefinite color. The funny thing is that there is one patch of lighter, possibly gray stuff above my right temple. It is exactly the same place where I had a slight patch of gray pre-chemo. I earned that and I’m almost happy to see it coming back. I’m guessing my hair will be about the same color without all the natural highlights that I had previously, so it will look darker at first. We’ll see about coloring or adding highlights when it gets a little longer.

These pictures were taken 2 months post-chemo. I’m going to try to take monthly pictures so you can see my progress.

This is my current look in public. I have the same hat in black, white and navy and it is my go-to look for now. It’s more comfortable than the full wig and it keeps my head warm. That’s pretty important these days.

 

 

 

For my prayer partners: My Mom leaves the hospital tomorrow, after about ten days of up and down news. She will spend a couple weeks at a rehab facility to help her regain her strength and allow both of them to get used to the routines of dialysis. My brothers and sisters-in-law have been consulting with the doctors, researching facilities, making decisions and keeping me informed of everything that is going on. It’s hard being sidelined but I know I have to stay here and finish my treatments. I have 8 more radiation treatments so I’m hoping to complete those and then go help them with the transition to home. I haven’t experienced fatigue at this point but my skin is getting red and itchy. Johnny’s mood is currently pretty low after a brief manic episode over the weekend. Please continue to pray for some real change in his condition. Thanks.