Hair We Go!

Last night, my whole little family took a ride over to Cayce, SC to a very kind man's shop called "AHC (Alternative Hair Clinic)".  Ken is the owner and stylist and I am so thankful that a friend, Mary Anne, recommended him. 

I met with him last Friday, and he helped me come up with a plan for taking control of my hair loss.  He has helped many, many people through this difficult part of cancer treatment.  I like everything that I know about him....his kindness....his calmness....his humor....his talent...the fact that he refers to shaving your head as "planing" in honor his grandfather who was a master woodworker....like my Dad. 

He is humble, you can tell, but he has made a name for himself among survivors in our area.  When I went for my chemo education class, the nurse Ann spoke highly of what he is able to do so creatively for chemo patients.   Then, when I went to the Look Good, Feel Better class, he was mentioned by the instructor.  I eagerly interjected that Ken was helping me, too!

When I met with him last week, I asked if he felt comfortable with Charles and the girls coming to the next two appointments (short hair cut) and then the appointment where he will "plane" my head.  It is funny, my sister used to always look at my outfits and say, "Is THAT what you're gonna wear?" as she continued to call me "Plain Jane"....now, I'm gonna look like G.I. Jane!

So, all of us went to his shop and it has already become one of my favorite memories....one that I will treasure.  I'm so thankful that Charles worked it out to be able to leave work a bit early to join me.  I was nervous about the idea of getting my drastic hair cut and then going home for them to see.  I was very glad that we could all be there together....and especially, I am glad that Charles was there to take in the process and mentally prepare for the next step.

The first step was to put my hair into many tiny ponytails....and then cut them off....Ken calls this "donating" your hair.  But in my case, I am donating to myself.  Ken will create a headband of my own hair that I can wear under hats.  He also was able to cut enough to make a ponytail that I can use with baseball caps.  My own hair, recycled.  Pretty cool.   The black cap looking thing on my head is how he marks measurements to create the headband of hair.

While Ken worked, Macy played "peep-eye" with us...she LOVES her blankets now, so much!

Molly explored Ken's shop and the girls took turn in the stroller....my lap....Charles' lap. 
I am so glad that Ken was not only comfortable with my family being there, but he encouraged it,
and included them in conversation, using the girls' names and having a good time with us.

This is what I looked like after Ken cut all my ponytails off. 
One thing I really appreciated was that before he started cutting, he said, "You are in control of how much we cut."
And then he explained what my options were based on how much was cut. 

Meanwhile.....back on the ranch....Charles did a great job of keeping the girls occupied.

Peep - eye!

I only put this on here so that you can see Ken....I realize it is not one of my best moments.  :)

So, here's my temporary new look.....maybe for the next 10 days or so.
It is much shorter than I had envisioned before I met Ken.
But, knowing he was creating something from my hair made it a much easier
decision to go soooo short! 

And, guess what....the girls never looked at me like they didn't recognize me.
I had concerns about that because of how they look at me a little odd when I have a towel on my head after a shower.
When I turned back to look at them in the car, to see if they'd have the same reaction (big smiles) when I whip my head around to surprise them.....Macy did....and Molly....had her finger in her nose.  Well, that lightened the mood and brought me back down to my normal place on earth.

When we got in the car, Charles leaned towards me and said, "I think you look great."  I cried.  He has a lot to deal with and I could see from time to time that he was really taking it all in and realizing that the hair loss is coming on quickly.  He told me on the way home that he would rather 'plane' my head instead of having Ken do it.  We'll see! 

After working through seeing myself look so drastically different, I started worrying about what my Dad would feel when he first laid eyes on me.  Daddy has always loved long hair for women and never liked it when I got my hair cut.  I had told him a while back that I'd need to have a few hair cuts progressively shorter.  So, I wanted to prepare him on the phone before he saw me.   But........... tonight, Daddy and Mrs. Mary drove up in our driveway unexpectedly .... we were sitting under the tree in the front yard swinging Macy and Molly.   My reaction was not good.   I panicked and asked Charles to please hurry to the car and prepare Daddy.   When they opened their car doors, I started crying pretty hard.  Mrs. Mary came and hugged me and said all the right things.  I cried.  Then Daddy walked over and I couldn't look at him.  I just cried.  I stood up to hug him and told him I knew it would be hard to look at because, "You've always liked long hair."  He said, "Well, I like YOU more than the long hair and I'm just sorry you're having to go through this."  I cried some more and didn't let him stop hugging me.  I promised them that I would prepare them before they saw me at the next stage.

Speaking of which....I ordered four hats today from the American Cancer Society.   Charles picked one (it is kinda crazy) and I picked the others. 

Picking out my wig is next.  Pressure!

I really am ok with my new looks.....and I know I'll come to terms with being bald, too.  Summer time in South Carolina is a pretty good time to go bald, eh?  My tears, mentioned earlier, were because I know it must be hard for a parent to watch their child go through chemo or anything difficult, really.   I hate the fact that my loved ones are going to go through the stages of having to look at me as I go through these next few months.  I am sorry that they'll have to try to not react so that they don't hurt my feelings. 

I truly hope that if you come to see me, you'll be open and up front with questions or thoughts you have.  I do not want my bald head to be the "elephant in the room".  Shortly after I announced at school about my cancer and upcoming chemotherapy, I was sitting in a teacher's meeting and the teacher next to me said, "When's your first treatment?"  I loved that.  Because most people don't know what to say, but she went straight to it.  I like that! 

Thanks for reading my blog.  Hope you are doing well!  :)

If you know of someone who is beginning their chemotherapy journey in South Carolina, telling them about Ken's services would be a gift in itself.  His shop is located here:

Alternative Hair Clinic LLC         501 Poplar St        Cayce, SC 29033        803-936-0112