Sunday, August 12, 2007

Thin, thin, thin . . .

One more day with some hair; maybe I’ll be able to keep some until Ruthie and Phil get here. They had meant to come on Tuesday, but decided they could make it tomorrow! Then Ruthie bent over to put something in her suitcase and pulled something in her back!!! Maybe God doesn’t want her to ‘snatch me baldheaded.’ HA! Trust me; it won’t take any snatching. I think if I wash it, it’ll go down the drain if I don’t catch it. Every time I comb it (little as possible) another handful falls.

Just pray with me that Ruthie and Phil can come and that they’ll travel safely. The hair doesn’t matter a bit.

Tomorrow afternoon Don and I will go to Lawton and meet with the oncologist who will oversee my treatments in Lawton. We’ve got a lot of things to do around her in the morning, so it’ll be a busy day.

We took the pictures I promised, so you can see how thin the hair is. You can also see how much thinner it is since just Tuesday when I was ready to shave it and Don talked me out of it. (That's the picture with the white hair in last night's blog.) It’s not a big deal; just interesting. I'm amazed at how much I was able to keep this long. They say it'll be gone in 21 days and this is day 23, so my curly gray hair is hanging tough!

I hope none of you ever have to go through this, but if you do, I pray that losing hair will be as difficult as it gets. I feel blessed to have no other side effects so far. I think when the hair is all gone it will actually be better. Then I won’t have hair everywhere and I can rub my head! There will be no bad hair days. One of my friends here said yesterday, “I think hair is highly over-rated, anyway.” I love it and so agree with her! Thanks, Delores! I imagine after these treatments are all over and my hair grows back, I may have a new respect for hair, though. I’m thinking winter with no hair might be fun, getting to snuggle up to hats all the time. I used to like hats in the winter, except it made my hair so electric; I’m looking forward to wearing hats this winter.

Thanks for keeping up with my hair saga. It would be more interesting if I had more to report than loss of hair, but anything else would be bad, so I’m giving thanks that I feel so good. I’m giving thanks that my sister and brother-in-law want to come to see us, and I’m praying that Ruthie will get relief for her back so that they can do it!






11 comments:

  1. Lookie here little sister-in-law, don't let this hair loss bother you at all....I used to have a full head of hair like you, and I've been losing it a long time!! Looks like you are going to go right past the "comb over" stage you are always teasing me about and go straight to bald! Seriously, I'm amazed at your grace and positive attitude, and I'm so proud of you!! See you soon!

    Love ya!
    Phil

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  2. Lookie here little sister-in-law, don't let this hair loss bother you at all....I used to have a full head of hair like you, and I've been losing it a long time!! Looks like you are going to go right past the "comb over" stage you are always teasing me about and go straight to bald! Seriously, I'm amazed at your grace and positive attitude, and I'm so proud of you!! See you soon!

    Love ya!
    Phil

    August 13, 2007

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  3. Sissy, you look so precious! Everyone should have your attitude and outlook on this time in your life. You're an inspiration to everyone. I love you. T

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  4. Hi Jo and Don!! Hope all goes well in Lawton this afternoon, and you establish a good relationship with the oncologist. Praying for Ruthie and Phil to have safe travel.
    And, Jo, keep the pink!! You look beautiful! Remember in high school when you cut your very long hair to very short hair, and all the girls were going "Jo Hodge cut her hair, Jo Hodge cut her hair!!" You were so beautiful then and you still are. Keep the faith, Love you lots, Linda and Tom.

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  5. Phil, you're going to get to tease me plenty after this. It's okay; I'm considering myself to be approaching great company with this bald thing. I'm rounding up lots of hats!

    I can't wait to see you, two! I'm praying for a safe trip for you today!

    Love you,

    Mary Jo

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  6. Oh, Terri, thanks! I'm just trying to hold onto the last few hairs so that Ruthie can experience the final loss with me. I think it'll be fun and I want to share it. They're coming today, so maybe I can hold on until they get here. I didn't even comb it this morning; just pulled over strands to cover the pink spots, and still collected a hand full in the sink. After they get here, I'll let it all go and be DONE with all this shedding.

    I wonder if it will come back all white or if there will be some color. This is kind of like Christmas; something new all the time. So far nothing has been bad, so I'm thanking God for that!

    Keep singing! I'm counting on it!

    Love you,

    Sissy

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  7. Hi, Linda and Tom! Thanks for the encouraging words; yes I needed that pink! Ruthie will be here tonight or tomorrow and she'll help me get my grooming act together.

    Yes, I remember cutting my hair to everyone's shock. I was so done with it then, as I am, now! Ha! I walked in the Kozy Diner this morning and a friend said, "Oh, you've been to the shop and got a bleach job and cut!" What a positive thing; I should have thought of that. As soon as Ruthie gets here I'm giving up the 'comb over' and going for the bald look. The girls from high school days would say, "There she goes, again!"

    Your love means a lot; you two are like family. Love you, Jo

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  8. Hello Jo and Don, I am traveling today to Hobart, Ok. with Ruthie and Phil, in prayer!! Oh how precious they are. I just know you are thrilled to be waiting for them to pull in! I remember so many times when we lived in Hammond, Ind. and Mom and Dad would come and bring my Nephew and Neice. They were just children then and Jane would get so excited, too and Frazier would too, Bless his heart! Looking at the pictures, I would never believe your hair is falling out. It is just beautiful and it will come back beautiful. My sister fell and cut a gash on her head about 2 years ago and they shaved her whole head and it came back so beautiful and was curly. Your positive attitude will be What will Be will Be and it will be Beautiful. Oh how I hope you all will feel good and have a great time. Ruthie is an angel to keep me posted to the fact she sent and e-mail this morning to say they were walking out the door. Bless her and Phil is her Guardian Angel!! I never know when to stop so hope it doesn't bore you too much. Keep up the Pick Us All Uppers. That is truly what they do for us. That Phil is a Great Man and I know I don't have to tell anyone that! Great of him to send you a comment.
    With Love and Prayers to all of you.
    Dot and Frazier
    With Love and Prayers.

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  9. Hair is very over rated! My whole life revolves around it, don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I do....but people make it difficult. Everyone wants something different and can't be happy with the hair God gave them. I guess I should just be happy that I can make a living off of that! Uncle Phil is so sweet....he's just always been a sweetie...and a darn good tooth fairy! I hope they are coming to see you! Tickets to OKC were SUPER cheap today....but I'll have to wait! I miss you tons!

    Jilly

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  10. Dot, you NEVER bore us! You keep us motivated! It's so good to know you love us and keep us in your prayers. I know you do that with Phil and Ruthie, too, so it's a comfort to me to know they have you near and even "along with them as they travel."

    They are tired, but they had a fun day. Hopefully we'll all get some rest while they're here. It'll be fun to just hang out together!

    We were all kind of let down that I didn't go bald tonight; certainly surprised. We'll just hide and watch. I was being careful, hoping to keep some till they got here, so I can just relax, now.

    Keep up the notes; nobody cares how much you write! I love every word!

    Love you,

    Jo

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  11. Hi, Jilly! The great tooth fairy arrive bringing Aunt Ruthie! They are such a hoot. We're goofing off and having fun and have been since the moment they arrived.

    Wish you could join us this weekend, but if it's not a good time, we'll just have to go with the time God provides.

    We've been going over all the pictures you sent and the pictures we took when we were there for the Fox reunion.

    Love and miss you,

    Mom

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