I’ve been home for a week now and it has been fantastic, as usual. After a weekend filled with visitors, I returned to Hopkins on Monday for my last spinal tap and bone marrow of the induction phase. Versed knocked me out as always and I didn’t feel a thing, though I was a little sore from the bone marrow extraction during the week. Now we’re just waiting for results and I’m staying busy with classes and getting ready for my cousin’s wedding on Saturday. My ANC was over 900 on Monday so my doctor said I could get my nails done as long as the salon is clean and they’re not poking around at my cuticles. He may have said more, but this conversation happened after they gave me the Versed.
Classes are going well but are surprisingly hard to keep up with. I thought two classes would be no problem with all the free time I have, but I don’t have as much time as I expected. Between clinic appointments (where attempting to accomplish anything significant is actually pointless), naps, eating, running necessary errands, and hanging out with visitors, I don’t always have much free time. Working on The Triangle is much easier from home, which is nice. Other than that, I don’t have any updates about school, other than that I’ll be on campus a little bit over the weekend and I can’t wait! My boyfriend is coming to the wedding, and my parents agreed to drive him back to campus the next day so I can visit my friends there for a little bit. I’ve found some perks to this no hair thing. You know that awesome feeling of a cool pillow on your face? Well I have it for my whole head! Also, my showering time has been cut in half without a ton of hair that requires conditioner and legs that no longer require shaving. Instead of brushing my hair, I just need to pick a bandanna, or not (I usually do if for no other reason than my head is kinda cold). I have to enjoy the little things. These perks are not worth all the side effects, but they’re a nice distraction! As nice as not having hair can be, I decided I wanted the option of having hair, for things like the wedding and co-op interviews. I went with a family friend on Tuesday to find a wig. I was excited but also dreading the process. Usually when I’m shopping for something last minute (like less than a week before the wedding), I can never find what I’m really looking for. Fortunately for me, wig shopping was different! I stood there looking at a wall of hair in different colors and styles. It was overwhelming but cool to see how many choices I had. As much as I like a little adventure, I wasn’t feeling particularly adventurous about my hair so I stuck with shades of brown. When I considered a wig nine years ago, I found out they all had to have bangs to hide the part of the wig that the hair is attached to and I quickly stopped looking. My 10 year old self would rather be bald than have bangs. The only explanation I can think of is my traumatic experience growing my bangs out in 2nd/3rd grade, but since wigs don’t grow out, I really don’t have a clue. Anyway, wig technology has improved over the years. In addition to the dozens of wigs on the wall, there were dozens of catalogs filled with more options. I found one with slightly longer than shoulder-length hair and long side bangs that I really liked. Picking a color from a catalog is challenging. They have little hair swatches, but it’s hard to picture them as a full head of hair, just like using those paint swatches from Home Depot. They didn’t have the color I originally wanted in stock, but they suggested a similar color. When I picked it up the next day, it was a little redder than I expected but it looked great. Under certain lights, like the lights at the tailor where I went to pick up my bridesmaid dress right after I got my wig, it looks VERY red, but usually it’s dark brown with a hint of red. I wouldn’t complain if my hair grew back that color. Last time, my hair grew back darker, so maybe this time it will grow back redder. We’ll see! Wig and dress, check. My last project before the wedding is part of the bridesmaids’ gift for the bride. It requires going through a lot of old pictures, and I’ve been having a blast going through our family photo albums. Continued thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers, and visits! We find out the results of the bone marrow extraction and the recommended treatment plan this afternoon.
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AuthorI’m Karen. I was originally diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in August 2004 when I was 10 years old. When I was working on my college and scholarship application essays two years ago, I wrote about my journey. Although it was a rough few years, it became such an influential part of my life that I can’t, and wouldn’t want to, imagine my life without having had cancer. I called it the worst best thing that ever happened to me. Archives
April 2022
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