The Hair Is Back

I remember writing in April that my hair was fleeing.  So, I thought I ought to follow that up with the announcement that my hair has returned.

I had a false idea that my head hair was returning earlier than the norm when I suddenly had bristles that stayed the end of May.  Odd thing was that nothing else happened with them.  They did not grow; they did not fall out.  What happened, though, was that my eye lashes, eye brows, and nose hairs decided to disappear.  As a result, I had a very boring head.  The only thing breaking up its monotomy was my cool plum-colored glasses.

I finished chemo July 16, and I knew that at some point my hair would start to grow.  The reasonable thing was not to expect it to be right away.  I had said to Patty, as we left after my final chemo infusion, that I had to think of the next two weeks in the same way I did those blocks of time from when chemo began.  So, I knew not to start patting or rubbing my head to see if I noticed anything other than those bristles right away.

It was when I saw how fast my eyebrows and eyelashes returned that I knew for sure that my hair was beginning to grow back.  At first, it seemed like it was coming in rather slowly, as it was barely visible in a mirror, unless I got up close to the mirror.  I found myself patting and rubbing my head frequently, not that those motions would help anything; but it seemed like life was going to finally begin to return to normal.

By the end of August, it was very apparent my hair was growing.  It wasn't very long -- hardly enough to even grasp with fingernails, but it was visible without getting up really close to a mirror to see it.  I found myself excited enough that I would sometimes take off my hat or wig to show friends and family.

It seemed that all of a sudden, my hair really began to fill in quickly.  My goal was to give up my wig and hats when I had enough hair to cover my head nicely.  The end of September that happened, after I had an encouraging word from someone else doing rads who thought I looked good -- a woman who was a former hairdresser, I discovered.  That day I quit, practicing my "freedom" by going on my errands around Cortland without wearing my hat.

ANOTHER STEP!!