GOING BALD

The hair loss begins. Sunday night Amanda's hair started coming out. Just brushing her hair filled up the brush in a few strokes. So, I had to sadly say goodbye to her long hair. She has wanted it cut for a while. I told her she had to wait until after her baptism so it could be braided up. But then she got sick and missed her hair appointment, which I am now glad for since it gave us a chance to save a pony tail for her. I've just enjoyed having her pretend to be a puppy dog every time I put it in pig tails. I think as her mom I may miss her long hair more than she will. She will never have it this long again and enjoy being an animal at the same time, at least I hope so.

We sat down and talked about baldness as a side effect of her chemo. She made a face like she'd eaten something sour. Fortunately, Amanda is not very concerned about appearances. As she put it herself, "I'm more the artistic, creative type." I'd like to say she is taking it well, but we will see once it all falls out - most likely within a few weeks, or even days at the rate it is shedding. She did say that she does not want people to think she looks like a boy. She was easily reassured by the discussion of cute bandannas. And, she wants to keep her hair on Grandma's Wii game character. This was a BIG DEAL. She seems to be at a reasonable age to handle it well. For now, I cut her hair in a short bob. It's a good thing she's in isolation because I am not very good at styling my own hair, let alone cutting my daughter's. Who knows, baldness might look better than the cut she's got!