Lily is losing a lot of her hair. Right now she still has enough hair that it isn’t immediately noticeable. Larisa says that each morning, there are handfuls of hair on Lily’s pillow. Sitting beside her on the sofa yesterday, I saw lots of hair left where she had rested her head. Next week she will either start arm 1 or arm 3 of the clinical trial. If she is placed in arm 1, she will lose the rest of her hair in a month or two. If she is placed in arm 3, she will lose the rest of it immediately.
I told her the other day that if it would make her feel bretter, I woud shave my head and be bald with her. She looked at me like I was crazy - as though to say, “Why on earth would you shave your head and be bald if you don’t have to?”
Later I started thinking. Would I really have the nerve to voluntarily go bald - and not cover it with a wig? It’s an interesting thing to think about. It’s quite easy to SAY you’d shave your head. It’s quite another thing to actually DO it, and then conduct your everyday life with absolutely no hair - working, teaching, shopping.
Of course I know beyond a shadow of a doubt if I believed that it would make Lily feel even a tiny bit better for me to shave my head, I would do it in a heartbeat. I don’t believe it matters to her, though. Maybe I’m wrong. The topic sure has me thinking, though.
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January 1st, 2009 at 10:33 pm
I’m so sorry about your granddaughter. I had a friend in high school who had leukemia. She had to drop out of school and I moved the next year. We didn’t stay in touch. It was probably my fault. You know how teenagers can be so involved in their own lives. So I never found out what happened to her.
Shaving your head would be a big step. I can’t imagine doing it myself. Hair is such a big part of a person’s identiy. However, your Lily doesn’t have a choice. It would be a difficult decision to make to shave my head voluntarily.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Just think how much time you’d save getting ready for work each morning. No hair washing or styling. You’d save money on hair products too. It sounds liberating to me.
January 1st, 2009 at 10:37 pm
It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 am
Maybe you can do matching wigs, scarves, turbans ? My 5 year old grand is having her first haircut in 2 weeks..it’s down to her fanny, and my midkid is having it donated to locks of love, because I showed her Lily’s story.As I said before, this child is such an inspiration ! God Bless y’all !
January 5th, 2009 at 10:07 am
[...] January 1st, I wrote that while Lily was losing her hair quickly, it wasn’t immediately noticeable to anyone unless [...]
January 7th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
My boyfriend’s mom got breast cancer a few years ago (she is fine now!), and while going through chemo, she lost her hair. We bought her a couple of headscarves, but in a sudden act of solidarity, my bf and his dad shaved their heads. It was hard for my guy; he’s probably about an 8 on the vanity scale. But it was, really, an effortless decision, and filled his mother with humor and healing. As Roger (above) so rightly stated: It’s just hair. It’ll grow back. As for myself, i didn’t participate because it was a family thing and i didn’t know her that well at the time. Needless to say, i think it would be harder to voluntarily shave your head as a woman (is that a horrible thing to say?). In any case, you don’t *have* to do it for support- just be there! Good luck with everything, and best wishes to you all. Happy new year.