Equality

Was riding in my car this morning and I was thinking about everything like I usually do, all the time. Only today this particular event in my life came to mind and I really have no clue why.

It was about 5 1/2 years ago when my son was in the 3rd grade (seems like yesterday…boy how time flies), he attended the YMCA’s after-school program daily. Everyday, there would be a group of parents all rushing to get there to the school before 6 o’clock so we wouldn’t get a fee for being late. It’s funny because it would be the same group, me included.

As we signed our children out, we would chat a little…normally about the kids and how silly they are being or slow moving they are as we were waiting. Well as time goes on, days and weeks go by we all started to know one another. It was never really on a personal level but the talks were more involved, and you notice STUFF.

There was this one lady in particular that I would talk to and for some reason she looked different to me on this particular day. Ahhh! I said. I know what it is but I dare not say a word to her to let on that I know anything; it would make her uncomfortable I’d thought. So I went home told my husband about my theory and told him that I was going to say something to her tomorrow.

The next day, oddly I actually didn’t see her…I was very upset that I could pose my question to her. The following day, however was my day to ask. I remember going up to her and saying, “I just want you to know that I don’t have any hair either and I make wraps.” Then there was SILENCE…. I was like, “I’m sorry!” She laughed and told me that she’d been going through chemo for about a month. She told me that at first the thought of loosing her hair was not a big thing, so she thought. Now though, she was embarrassed she said. Then she wanted to know about why I lost my hair. I informed her about Alopecia, the little that I knew about it at that time. She looked at me and said that my condition was just as big as her condition. She told me that she would pray for me because our issues are just as equal and she ask me to pray for her…for her healing.

As time went on I would see her, and she would tell me about her process and as time had gone on she was slowly getting her hair back. By the end of the school year, she had it all back. At times I got very upset because mine was still not there. She shedded her wigs and at the time I was still wearing them or wraps.

So as I was driving today and I thought about that particular event in my life leading up to now, I think of all the comments, the mistaken thought that I do or must have cancer because of my bald head. I’d thought and wondered if there was really any equality, any similarity in the two.

Cancer:
Fatigue
Nausea & Vomiting
Pain
Hair Loss
Anemia
Infection
Blood Clotting Problems
Mouth, Gum and Throat Problems
Diarrhea and Constipation
Nerve and Muscle Effects
Effects on Skin and Nails
Radiation Recall
Kidney and Bladder Effects
Flu-Like Symptoms
Fluid Retention
Effects on Sexual Organs and Sexuality


Alopecia:

Hair Loss
Nail issues
Some local pain
Other auto-immune issues

(Each is somewhat different)

These are only a few that I could think of for the both, but my final word was that I was not sick…I’m not drained because of treatments. I also choose not to use anything for the simple reason of side effects. So the Alopecia list could surely be a little longer. The only for real equal thing that we have in common is the loss of hair, only mine will probably not come back…so those with alopecia it’s a long termed mental devastation (if you let it be) because one has to continue to cover up or come up with different ways to hide the baldness… (again if you let it…)

So as I pulled into the parking lot at my job, I sat and thought about this all and confirmed my Mission. I didn’t at the time know why I thought about that lady, maybe the process of getting all my emotions past and present all rolled up into 1 and making something out of it.

Both conditions are such dreaded positions in anyone’s life and I guess to a certain extent the conditions can be viewed as equal, especially in women. The first thought is usually loosing hair! However, I’m not sick nor will I die from Alopecia…so I find LIGHT, literally at the end of my tunnel…I find gratefulness, a new look on things because LIFE can always be worse. My fight is not tired, and my body is not taxed…

So as I stepped outside my car to walk into the building, confirmation came to me the reason why my mind fell on that lady, our talks and that ‘Equal” statement she made…KEEP FIGHTING, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, KEEP STEPPING TALL, KEEP ENCOURAGED, KEEP LIVING AND LOVING LIFE, KEEP JOY AND HAPPINESS, KEEP FAITH…

Just like Alopecia, Cancer is also an unpredictable disease that can happen to anyone. I will also post information about the National Cancer Society along with the National Alopecia Areata Foundation on this site, all in hopes for AWARENESS, HELP and a CURE or more suitable treatments.