Hair-shaving Party!!!

     So, true to cancer forum predictions, my hair started to fall out around day 14 after treatment.

At the hospital for an echo-cardiogram,
day 15 after treatment.

Truthfully, my first experience with the hair loss was the evening of day 13. I reached up and tested my hair, and painlessly came away with a pinch of 12-15 hairs. Yikes! I giggled nervously as I showed my husband and sprinkled them on the carpet. My expected response of tears was suddenly forestalled when my three-year-old reached over, grabbed twice as much hair than I had just pulled out of my head, and laughed maniacally as she sprinkled it in my upturned face. I was trying to see how much she grabbed when she let it go and it was all over me! She honestly thought it was hilarious that mommy's hair was coming out! We went to bed, and I was relieved when my pillow wasn't covered in hair the next morning. However, three different times during the next day, if I was distracted by homework (or Facebook or whatever,) baby girl would reach over and yank out another handful of hair! I tried to get mad at her, honestly I did, but she laughed and giggled each and every time she did it. Stinking-cute spoiled little angel.

     By Saturday (day 16) morning I started seeing the damage on my pillow. By the afternoon I decided I'd had enough of the mess, and I scheduled a head-shaving party by texting a few friends and my family. Sunday I showed off my nifty trick to some kids at church in Primary. Some of them appreciated it, one of them did NOT. Oh boy, sorry honey!
     After church, I took a nap in the backyard so the kids would play outside. It was so nice to curl up in two cancer quilts in the sun! When I woke up, I asked my five-year-old son if he wanted to try and pull some of mommy's hair out, because we were an hour away from the party, so why not?

     To my surprise, his handful was MUCH larger than his sister's, and I knew he'd left me with a pretty decent bald spot in the middle of my mohawk! We chased around the yard for awhile, he kept trying to get another handful, and I kept tickling him.

     By 4:00 we were at Relik Salon in Orem where my sister-in-law, Nateal, works. We brought cheese squares, crackers, a veggie tray, and brownies. We waited the customary fifteen minutes or so for everyone to arrive, and then I gave anybody who wanted a chance to pull some of my hair out. Yes, kind of creepy. But in that fascinating way. Then Nateal taught my children how to use the clippers, and if they wanted to, they gave them a try on my head. Shane took a middle stripe out of my mohawk, and if I hadn't been laughing so hard I would have cried! It didn't take long once the clippers were safely back in Nateal's experienced hands. The hair loss looked pretty funny up close, I'm not sure if anyone got a picture that showed how funny the little lines and spots of baldness looked.

Unfortunately, my nephew was not thrilled
about joining the head-shaving. 

     Pretty soon, my brother's head was shaved, my twin sisters' panels done, my brother-in-law's, my other brother, my nephew... the hair just kept hitting the floor.

     When it was my dad's turn, they told me I should be the one to cut his hair. That's when I finally cried. I didn't want anyone to cut their hair, but they all wanted to show support for me. My dad has cancer, but won't need chemo. There was something just really sad to me about cutting his hair off for my cancer.

     Anyway, then Nateal had a panel, courtesy of her husband (she trusted him with the clippers?!), and my baby girl came up to me and said "Mommy, I want a haircut, too!" "Really? You want just a little cut off?" "No! I want it like this..." and she motioned and indicated my head. "No, honey, we are not shaving all your hair off."

     She wandered off for a bit and came back later. "Please Mommy? I won't even cry. I promise!" She is super animated when she talks, and uses excellent hand motions and all. I caved in and let her get hers done like her Aunts'. I cried a little then, too.

     Another sister-in-law took the chair, and two hours after we started we were finally done and ready to take pictures of all the baldies - including the little niece who just has barely any hair because she's a tow-headed little blondie.

     In all, twelve of us had something shaved.

I had two dear friends in attendance. One wore a scarf in her hair in a show of support, and the other brought me a bag of M&Ms with a super cute poem. Three additional family members and friends who don't live near us sent me pictures of their head-shaving, as well. It was quite the party, one I don't think any of us will ever forget.
     Another friend shared this quote from The Velveteen Rabbit, and I just had to steal it for the occasion:

     He said, "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

     If I wasn't Real before, cancer is the sure-fire way to make it happen. I am surprised at how little my baldness bothers me. I don't mind covering my head in public to make others more comfortable (and it is a lot warmer) but you may also spot me happily bare-headed in the grocery store, or cheerfully explaining my hair loss to a child. I also have no reservations about posting pics online. Baldness has always strangely fascinated me, so if you share in that fascination please forgive my grainy pictures. I'm sure my sister will take some fantastic ones for me soon.

The day after.

I figured about 40% of it was gone.

2 days after

Can you tell I sat out in the sun for 15 minutes with suntan oil on my head?
I plan on swimming with the kids this summer. I don't want to accidentally get a sunburn, so I'm going to slowly expose my scalp to the sun each day. 

Can you imagine if I hadn't cut it and just let this much... come out? 

The patchiness is normal, and it's why most people choose to cover their head.
The Dr. told me not to "Bic it", since your scalp is sensitive,
and one mis-swipe and you've opened yourself up for an infection.

     I'm so grateful for my support network. I can't even thank everyone who has made a difference, because it would be in the hundreds. People are constantly checking in on me, asking how they can help, opening up with me, sharing their feelings and love, sending me gifts, making me laugh, and saving my life. Do you really wonder why I'm so happy when I've been constantly surrounded with, buoyed up by, and inundated with love? I love you all, too! <3