Halfway through my day, one of my regular clients arrived. As I walked up to talk about what we would be doing with her hair today, I noticed she looked very tired and upset. She had tears in her eyes as she told me she wanted to shave all of her hair off. I have been cutting this woman's hair for five years and have become close with her. We both just looked at each other and had a moment of pure reality of what this meant. We both had tears. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She had surgery and then went into remission. A few weeks ago it had gotten worse and she began a very forceful treatment causing her hair to fall out. She decided she couldn't stand the torture of finding clumps of hair on her pillow and decided to have me cut it all at once. I was very resistant at first, but after she had explained, I pulled her into my chair and told her how fantastic she would look! This is honestly a haircut I have never done before so I was telling her she was helping me as well. I took the clippers and began shaving her head as tears rolled down her face. This made it real. I began to lighten it up with other subjects and tried my best to make her feel good.
She walked out of the salon with no hair on her head, but she was so brave with a smile. She inspired me today. This makes my daily problems seem so small. Thank God, for he gives us these awakening moments to teach us. I thank God for my blessings.
wow.... thank you for this post. helps put the humanity in cancer for me. I have relatives/friends with cancer...and I my fiance does, too. It's so hard for me to put myself in their position when I don't see these little moments. Sure we sympathize, but this is something so private and courageous... wow.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a powerful post. I love how she grabbed control of something she could control. It shows how resilient she really is. What a powerful thing you were able to share with her.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!