HAIR & HURRICANE LOSS

 

It's old news by now. I'm referring to the Oscar slap seen round the world! But I'm dredging it up for a reason.

Personally, I think Will Smith should have had his ass hauled off to jail the second after he struck Chris Rock! My heart went out to this comedian every time I saw a replay of the incident. Right before the slap he stood there with a big smile on his face as Smith approached without a clue what was about to befall him.

If Will Smith ever placed a hand on me I would sue the pants off him! He didn't deserve a standing ovation. He should have been booed off the stage!

Whether or not Chris knew about Jada's medical condition is irrelevant. The joke wasn't even mean! Even Will himself laughed upon hearing it. Had Rock exclaimed, "Holey moley Jada your head looks like a bowling ball with a face painted on!" -- Now that would have been mean!

But the joke was innocent!

Since I don't follow celebrities I assumed Jada's look was a fashion choice. And I thought she looked absolutely gorgeous! However upon seeing her smile in reaction to her husband's assault it made me want to punch her in the yap!

This was a valuable teaching experience for her children and she failed miserably! As for making friends with her alopecia and embracing it, she talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk. Otherwise she wouldn't be that sensitive about it.

Recently I experienced a significant hair loss myself that threw me into a panic! Every time I washed or even combed, my sink would be full of hair. My parts were so wide you could almost drive a Mack truck thru them! I thought I was going to end up as hairless as GI Jada.

And worse I had burning and soreness as if a hot poker had been placed on my scalp!

When I went to the stylist he refused to cut my hair as short as before. He felt it only drew attention to the thinning. But I insisted he do it! That way I could slip a turban or wig on more neatly.

I told myself I was the perfect person for this condition. I own a stockade of hats, wigs, & turbans. You might say I'd been preparing for this my entire adult life, -- but that didn't make it any easier! Never would I embrace it. Never would it become my friend, not even a forced one.

The dermatologist visit I scheduled was due to hair loss and not that giant pimple on my face with the weird border.

The doctor glanced briefly at my scalp and agreed there was loss. "Try Rogaine," he advised. "However you must use it for at least 6 months to know whether or not it works. "But don't expect your hair to look as it did when you were 22." 

Geez, I'd settle for when I was 65! And Rogaine is downright expensive! If I'm going to shell out that kind of money for a product I want to be certain it's going to work. Not something that I have to close my eyes, wish, and knock-on-wood first!

Then I happened to mention, "Oh and by the way doctor I've got this thing growing on my face." -- I was sure he was going to tell me it was benign. And if it bothered me he'd prescribe a peeling cream or something else to remove it.

I was blown away when informed that it was skin cancer and was growing! I ended up with a big pit in my face that was far wider than the growth.

If someone said to me, "Hey Dianne, that hole in your face is so deep a serial killer could throw 3 bodies in there and not get caught," I'd scowl rather than strike them, -- unless it became a habit and bordered on harassment. That would be different!

Due to this runaway inflation there is no way I can afford a skin graft by a plastic surgeon so it appears I'll need to force myself into accepting a scar on my face. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping it won't be that bad.

The wound is narrowing and filling in despite the dermatologist's highly negative prognosis.

As to my hair loss, thankfully it was temporary, related to stress caused by an unusually active hurricane season in which I unable to find anyone to board-up my home.

Thanks to nutritional supplements and a reliable (although far from cheap) contractor my tresses are back -- at least for now!