About 8 months ago, I donated my hair to a wonderful charity called Locks Of Love. It's an organization that takes unprocessed "virgin" hair and uses it to create wigs for men and women that are stricken with diseases in which, either the treatment or the disease itself, causes them to lose their hair. I had hair that was over 4 feet long, and I felt that someone else could use it more than I could.
Little did I know that 8 months later, I would be the recipient of one of those wigs.
Now normally I don't prefer wigs. I would rather go around bald or perhaps wrap my head in a scarf. I got past the point of disappointment when it came to losing my hair. My husband was the one that set me up with the appointment to be fitted for a wig. He felt it might boost my self-confidence or be more fitting for a night out than a scarf. Either way, he had the best of intentions. He's sweet. I love him so much.
Last week, 3 days after my chemo, I was feeling a little down when he came to me and said we were going for a ride. I hesitated, but he insisted that I wouldn't be disappointed. I scooted my way to the car and as we began to drive, I tried to guess where we were going. I didn't have a clue!
When we arrived at the wig shop, I though to myself "how are we going to afford a top-of-the-line wig like these!?" We didn't have the kind of money to be throwing around on such silly things :-)
As we walked into the shop, I was greeted by two lovely women, Beth and Serenity. They then explained to me that they were going to be fitting me for a wig and that Locks of Love would be providing it free of charge! I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I instantly started to cry. I was so touched that, not only did my husband go through the trouble of setting this all up, but these kind people were helping me feel a little more like a woman with their donation. I spoke with Serenity, who happened to be right around my age. She was stunningly beautiful, and she had gorgeous hair! I couldn't help but be a little jealous. She laughed when I asked if I could touch it.
"It's a wig" she explained.
No way....this was too real to be a wig! Sure enough it was! She had it pinned in to what little hair she had left. She was in remission from breast cancer. Breast cancer at 26. It seemed too unreal, but I suppose cancer knows no age.
I asked her if she would be totally truthful with me on how I looked. I tried on some short styles first, but none of them were me. I tried on every color you could think of! There was one that just stood out to me and everyone else. It was such a beautiful chocolate brown color, just like my hair used to be. It was long, with a little bit of wave to it. It was so beautiful, and it made me feel beautiful again. I couldn't help but wonder if this might have been
