Growing and Losing

Chemo is weird.  Hair that I didn't think I would lose, I did and hair that I thought that I would lose, I didn't.   Once I got done with chemo I totally thought I was in the clear for not losing any more of my eyebrows or eyelashes. Nope. I have heard of people losing their hair after treatment, but I was determined not to. I tried everything. No mascara, I wouldn't rub my eyes unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, I used gentle eye makeup remover pads.

Initially I thought that I was only going to have thin eyebrows.

Nope. Slowly but surely I was left with six eyebrow hairs on one side and maybe seven on the other.  Funny how I thought that my eyebrows were "thin" in that picture...

This is what I was left with before evicting them:

So, in Emily fashion, trying to be in control of an uncontrollable situation I got rid of them.  Oh and my eyelashes too.

They were ridiculous. At one point my right eye only had two eyelashes on it. TWO. And they managed to be so annoying. I would be in the middle of watching TV or be on the computer and they would somehow manage to poke me in my eye. So one evening I pulled them out. It definitely didn't take much, and I felt a lot better after. Until I looked at my other eye and noticed I had around eight eyelashes and it looked weird to me. So, off those ones went. I love balance and I know that no one else would notice, but I knew they were there and it bothered me. 

Two things happened once I got rid of them (both eyelashes and eyebrows): 

1. I felt less stress trying to worry about saving the few eyelashes and eyebrow hairs that I had. (immediately followed by me rubbing my eyes for the longest time-which felt A-MAZING!)

2. With my eyelashes, I noticed immediately that I already had new lashes growing in. I had the biggest smile ever.

Although my eyes look more puffy without eyelashes...

With the help of a little makeup I can look somewhat presentable.

Not having eyebrows makes putting them on SO much easier! And that fuzzy halo I have around my head is hair.  Hair! HAIR!!! HAIR!!!!  So on one side I've lost most/all of my eyebrows and eyelashes, on the positive side at least my hair is growing back!!!  Just an FYI it itches like no tomorrow coming back in, and I've given up on wigs for the time being because they make my head itch more and shifting my wig around to itch my head makes people look at you funny when you are in public places. :)

With each step in the losing hair process I thought it would be terrible to be without hair, or eyebrows or eyelashes and then I would look "sick", but if I could go back I would not have been so stressed out about it since I couldn't really control it, and it's really not as bad as I thought!!  

WOOHOO!!!! This is some exciting stuff happening around this house!