Mid-Treatment

This week - the middle of the road for radiation - has brought another journey to our lives: Heather losing her hair. I have always read that people just wake up one day and their hair starts falling out in clumps. Well, that's true. Heather's hair started to fall out in the shower one morning, and it hasn't stopped since. As with all her other experiences in this journey, she has handled it with grace and optimism. Her take on what she goes through is that it is temporary. She feels our world is too superficial and plastic anyway, and hair only adds to that. Besides, she hopes her hair grows back thicker :)

Seriously, she did have a some tears and fear when the clumps landed on the shower floor, but her dad was there to add some comfort. She called me and said, "I want it all cut off!" We went to radiation that day and visited with another patient who has already lost her hair. She shared with us that if it all doesn't fall out, there will be strands left in spots. That grossed out Heather, and she was even more adamant to get hers cut. So, on Thursday, October 2, Heather sat in Penny's chair and said, "Cut it." Again she amazed me. Penny offered a private room, but Heather wondered why. With a cute twist, she reminded us that she has nothing to hide. The cut is short, but stylish and cute. Everyday she loses more hair and is now wearing head scarves in public. Jon always uses his thinning (bald) spot on the top of his head as evidence that his daughters have stressed him too much; now Heather uses her bald spot as proof that her father has given her too much stress! She named her spot DAD.

Sometimes Heather will lie on the couch resting her head on my lap as I hold her and rub her sore head. She isn't much for melodramatics, but she still needs her mom sometimes. I tell her that I remember her as a beautiful bald baby and she is now a beautiful semi-bald woman and I couldn't love her any more than I do. There really is something about a parent's love that cannot be defined.

We met with the radiation oncologist on Friday, and he and his nurse think Heather is doing very well. She has begun taking steroids to relieve some swelling due to the radiation but may taper a bit as early as next week. I don't like her on the medication, so I can hardly wait until she can get off. The swelling decision was made because of some uncharacteristic coordination problems - falling and tripping in the last week. Michele tried to convince the radiation oncologist that Heather has always been clumsy; Heather and I think Michele is goofy. I'm certain he thinks we are all nuts.

And, we are still fortunate to have time for play. So, off to Thunder Alley on Saturday night to watch NU football with friends. By halftime the NU game was a dud and we had eaten all our stomachs could hold, so Heather thought ending the night with our traditional fierce laser-tag competition - girls against the boys - would be appropriate. And, the girls finally won! No matter how many times we play, we always laugh ourselves silly! And laughter is wonderful medicine.