My Hair is Gone

When my hair started falling out I was dismayed. It meant I couldn't hide my condition from the world anymore. I was particularly concerned with how all the patients at work would respond to seeing me suddenly bald. It was going to cause a great deal of concern and interest, and I wasn't sure I could handle it. I tried cutting it short to begin with, but that didn't last long. It was thinning so badly, and I kept finding my hair everywhere. I lost about 1/3 of my hair when I was in high school due to a medication I was taking for my seizures and it was extremely upsetting then. My hair thinned, but it was never as dramatic as it has been this time around. Back then I kept it in a pony tail and put on a hat (I even had special permission to wear my hat in class). Despite my reservations, once I had made the decision that my hair had to go I felt at peace. So one night I asked Peter to shave it all off. I only cried a little, but I honestly don't know why because I didn't feel upset that it was gone. Now I'm all buzzed and I've got some great scarves to wear at work and when I go out. I get stares, particularly because I'm so young, and lots of people ask lots of questions that I didn't expect them to ask. I'm going to have to get used to it I guess, especially at work. Norton enforces his company policy of "no such thing as a bad day" with an iron fist. Even before my diagnosis I'd been reprimanded for not being cheerful enough. He also has a policy of making our patients feel so welcome that they think of us as friends. So not only do I have to be cheerful despite what I'm going through, the patients that do in fact think we're "friends" don't hesitate to ask what I feel are rather personal questions. Dr. Norton didn't ask me to keep the truth from the patients, but I know he was relieved when I told him that I wouldn't let them know how serious it was. It would be just too difficult to try to remain upbeat and cheerful while explaining how dire my health really is. So I tell them that it was caught early and my doctors expected me to go into complete remission.