8 Days and 7 Nights - The Aftermath of Chemotherapy

As I mentioned before, receiving a chemotherapy treatment and the Neulasta shot a day later was really no big deal.  It wasn't particularly painful and I wasn't really sore or tired in the 2 days following the initial chemotherapy treatment. I was told that every person's body handles chemotherapy differently, so I thought I was just one of those lucky people who really wasn't affected by all the possible side effects of the chemotherapy drugs.  I was wrong.

Hello Nausea

The word 'nausea' and 'nauseous' used to be 2 words that I was most likely to misspell for most of my life.  I have overcome that challenge.  I wrote those words so many times over the past 8 days that I can spell it in my sleep.... on Facebook, on Emails, on text messages, in chat rooms.  The story of my life for the foreseeable future - nausea. 

I have been nauseous before. I have had 2 babies and was nauseous for the first 12 weeks for each of them.  But it wasn't really 12 weeks. For each of them, on the day I was officially 12 weeks pregnant the nausea would end.  The first 4 weeks of each pregnancy I didn't know I was pregnant yet, and never experienced the nausea until I found out.  Almost within a day of finding out I was pregnant I would start with the morning sickness. For this reason, I had convinced myself that morning sickness was in my head.  I could handle that. This was different.  I kept asking myself why I couldn't tolerate this nausea. It wasn't that bad when I was pregnant. Why is it bad now? 

When I was pregnant, I could ward off nausea by eating something.  This is why I gained weight when I was pregnant -not because I had a baby growing inside of me, but because for 8 weeks I was eating constantly trying to not get sick.  So I tried this now.  Like when I was pregnant, eating helped me feel better.  But AS SOON as I swallowed, I was sick again. I was going to double in weight by the time this ordeal was over.

I was given some great advice on how to control this nausea. I was told to eat ginger. I love ginger. I don't like ginger while I am on chemo. In fact, the smell of it makes my nausea worse.  I was told to try ginger snaps. I don't like crunchy cookies so I ordered up a special batch of chewy ginger snaps from my one and only Cha-Cha Tina (my Mom's best friend.... I think 'Cha-Cha' means Aunt in some language).  I had one and felt better! So I had a second one and felt sick again. I was told to eat lemon candy and my 'cousin' Jenna brought me a whole bag of them! (cousin is in quotes because I don't think we are actually related in any way, but my family has friends that are so close and so loved, they might as well be family).  I ate a lemon candy and was exhilarated! I ate a second one and got sick again.  So what I learned is that if I find something that makes me feel better, STOP! Enjoy feeling better and don't push it. 

When I say I got sick, let me be clear that I at no time vomited. That would actually make me feel better I think. Normal nausea is a building tension you feel before you puke. The puking is like the orgasm of the nausea... the climax. Then afterwards, you feel better. Relieved.  Ready to move on.  This nausea had no climax. It was bound to drive me to death at some point.  When I was able to fall asleep, I would get relief only to wake up, sit up, and start the nausea all over again. If I woke up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, I was nauseous.

Nothing was appetizing.  The smell of food would launch warfare on my stomach. I would gag occasionally for <gag> no reason and with no outcome. I would be on the phone and <gag> mid sentence just start gagging. But it would be unceremonious and I would pick up my sentence right where I left off without so much as an apology for my gag, much to the disgust of the person I was talking to. Sometimes I would be very comfortable on my recliner and when I felt this way I couldn't move. If I so much as turned my head to look at the person talking to me, the nausea would return. 

Before I left the chemo treatment on Tuesday, the nurse gave me a script for Prochloperazine for nausea. I took this immediately, first thing on Thursday morning. It did not really help the nausea, it just helped the gagging. So I called the doctor Thursday afternoon. The doctor called me back Friday to see if it was getting better and I told them it had not, so they called me in Zofran. They told me to take the Zofran AND the Prochlorperazine at the same time because they both target a different neurotransmitter. I thought 2 different anti-nausea meds at the same time has to work, right? Not.  Luckily for me, Saturday came and the nausea lightened a bit. I still felt like crap if I moved, but it was better. At this point, it was like pregnancy nausea. Maybe a little worse, but worlds better than Thursday and Friday. 

Finally on Thursday, 8 days after my Neulasta shot, the nausea got to the point where I could function. Just in time to see the doctor for a checkup.

Thanksgiving Turkey

The day after the Neulasta shot, I got a symptom less common than the nausea, but just as uncomfortable.  Some people report a metallic taste in their mouth. I never got that, but I did get a salty taste in my mouth. I always felt like I just gargled with salt water and was extremely thirsty. I just couldn't get enough water, so I drank it. Now I usually drink a ton of water anyway... usually 5 or 6 refills of my 32 ounce Weight Watchers mug.  And I was more thirsty than usual.  Usually when I drink all my water, it comes back out again.  Now it didn't.  But I was losing weight.  Where was all the water going? I'll tell you where, it was collecting in a large pocket right below my ribs where my diaphragm was.  It was very uncomfortable and more importantly I looked ridiculous.  Imagine a woman with no breasts whatsoever and now, thanks to my failed DIEP transplant, no lower abdomen. I was completely flat from neck to pelvis... except for a kidney shaped protrusion halfway between my chest and my belly.  I looked like I was ready to be stuffed and basted for Thanksgiving. 

I called the doctor about this strange shaped protrusion I had coming out of me on Friday. They didn't seem to care so much that I looked deformed as they were about the water going in not coming back out.  A couple things they mentioned included electrolyte imbalance, diabetes, dehydration, among others. They had me come right in for blood tests.  Of course my blood tests came back completely normal so the nurse told me not to worry about my new body shape and just keep chugging along. 

Luckily for me, come Saturday morning what went in finally came out and my shape returned to normal. I continued to be thirsty for quite a while though, which is no big deal because I love water more than I love wine. This is especially a good thing because the smell of wine was beginning to make me sick. 

A Saved Trip to the ER

When I returned to work on Monday, 7 days after my chemo treatment, my nausea was being controlled so I was able to get some work done. I say 'some' because it is extremely hard to focus on

one task with nausea, even if it is controlled.  I was controlling the nausea with animal crackers, meds, and oranges.  I was told to try some ginger ale so I brought a liter of it to work with me and drank it while I had my meetings.  This was a mistake. Just as ginger snaps and lemon candy bothered me when I tried more than 1, the ginger ale really bothered me. I started to think that maybe it was the sugar that was triggering the severe nausea.  The ginger ale did in fact make me more nauseous but it also triggered a much more acute symptom - reflux.  I drank one glass of ginger ale on Monday afternoon and for the rest of the day I couldn't eat anything without it coming up and burning the back of my throat. Water would cause worse reflux so I stopped drinking water and started getting very thirsty. 

When I went to bed Monday night, I began getting acute stomach pains.  Short lived, super sharp pains in my lower abdomen woke me from a sound sleep all night long. No doubt you know what these pains feel like.  If you have ever been warned of an oncoming poop with stomach pains, or been notified that you haven't taken a poop in too long with stomach pains, you know what this feels like.  So I spent Monday evening walking from the bed to the bathroom.  But it was all to no avail. Neither of these 2 situations applied to me, I was just getting the pains. 

When 7am Tuesday came I was as tired as I used to be when I had babies nursing all night or worse, puking all night. And I still had nausea and reflux. Tuesday really flipping sucked. The reflux and nausea continued throughout the day and even though I was eating every few hours, my weight was going down. Hooray! Finally something good was coming out of this misery!

Tuesday night I remember sleeping without pain or incident and I think it was from sheer exhaustion. I couldn't have stayed awake to experience pain if I tried.  And I think that because Wednesday the pain picked up right where Monday night left off.  I experienced sharp stomach pains, reflux, and nausea.  I was on a strict regime of my anti-nausea meds, Loritabs for my chest incision pain, oranges for the nausea, and Tums for the reflux.  I had some Moe's chips and queso on Wednesday because I was so nauseous and it was free! It helped the nausea for almost 2 hours which was a welcome break.  Unfortunately, none of the other pain subsided. The Loritabs were barely working anymore (the fact that I forgot to bring them with me to work didn't help matters. They can't work if you don't take them).  The Tums weren't helping the reflux.  The abdominal pains were getting more frequent and there was nothing I could do to help those except get on my hands and knees and rock back and forth. 

Wednesday night was like Monday night continued. I rocked on my hands and knees most of the night trying to control the sharp abdominal pain.  At one point at around 4am I actually started to cry.  There was no way that this was normal or good.  I contemplated driving myself to the ER, but I have been there before. I will sit there in just as much pain as I was in at that moment for the next 8 hours and the end result, if I even get seen, will be that there is nothing wrong.  I had an appointment that day at 1pm with Dr. Dougherty to review side effects. If I was going to sit in the ER for 8 hours fruitlessly, I would wait 9 hours to see a doctor who could actually help me.

Thursday was another useless day. When you are operating on about 3 hours of sleep, feel like puking, and end up crippled over in pain every 30-40 minutes, you can't get much done. I couldn't wait to see the doctor.  When I got there, they found that I had lost 6 pounds since the Friday before.  Even though this thrilled me, it did not amuse Doctor Sullivan, Doctor Dougherty's nurse practitioner. (Yes, I know she is not a certified doctor but I have just as much if not more respect for NP's as I do doctors).  Nancy Sullivan ordered me to get hooked up to an IV right away for rehydration.  I didn't think I was dehydrated, especially since I drank so much water. It also concerned her that I was still nauseous after 10 days. She included some Zofran in that IV, to make sure it was getting into my system and staying there. This ruined my whole afternoon because I was in the infusion room, with an IV hooked to my mediport (UGH! I HATE MY MEDIPORT AND IT FLIPPING KILLS!) for the whole afternoon. I almost missed Brandon's last basketball game. My 1:00 appointment kept me there until 5:45!

While I was there, Doc Sullivan ordered an ab X-ray on me.  The sharp pains were troublesome to her, especially since they didn't start until day 8. The pains along with the water retention I had the week before lead her to believe I may have a bowel obstruction. I don't know exactly how the bowel can be obstructed, but I really didn't want to find out.

I got the Xray results right away, and the results were surprising.  Doc Sullivan told me that the Xray showed no obstructions, but instead an irregular gas pattern. First, I was shocked that you could see such things with an Xray. I thought Xrays were to see bones?  Why did they use an X-ray to look for a soft tissue obstruction in the first place?  And how in the world did they see a gas pattern with an X-day and... Wait a second.... I got an X-ray to tell me that I needed to fart really bad? Isn't that what they mean by 'irregular gas pattern'?  Are you kidding me?  Thank GOD that I didn't go to the ER the night before. Can you imagine my fury and embarrassment if I sat there for 8 hours in pain just for the ER doctor to tell me that I needed to fart???  Doc Sullivan gave me a script for reflux, which is very common in chemo (who knew) and a digestive aid to cut down on the gas pains. I still can't believe it.  I guess when you have cancer, they take everything very seriously. 

A Glorious Day

I woke up Friday a brand new woman! All traces of the nausea were gone.  All my stomach pains were gone. I had gained 5 of those 6 pounds I lost back. Easy go, easy come back I guess.  I had energy to spare.  I was motivated to get projects done.  I slept well.  And most of all, I was HUNGRY!  I would have eaten anything, even liver.  I went out to lunch at The Grapevine and enjoyed a huge lunch of eggplant parmesan, spaghetti, and a big salad with croutons and ranch dressing. This may sound like just a lunch out to you, but at the time it was the best meal I had eaten in my whole life! I went home and wanted to clean, and work on my blog, and make jewelry, and clean out my closet, and shop. If I ever did cocaine, I think this is what it would feel like. Maybe I was dehydrated. The IV fluids and Zofran not only helped me get rid of the nausea but infused me with energy! The silver lining of chemotherapy... FINALLY!

So, going forward we are going to adjust my treatment a bit.  Day one will be chemo. Day two after my Neulasta treatment I will be getting 1000ml of saline and Zofran via IV. Then I will come back again on day 3 for another 1000ml of saline and Zofran.  Doc Sullivan believes that my problem is that the chemo drugs were not moving through my system fast enough... they were hanging around and reaping havoc. So the forced fluids and going to force it through my veins and right back out again.  In addition, I have been given a new anti-nausea medication to take at home called Marinol.  Marinol sounds fun, it is a synthetic version of the active ingredient THC which is found in Marijuana. I have the Marinol pills now, but haven't had to try them yet because the nausea went away after Thursday's IV session.  The good news is that I have them for my next treatment and I am hoping this time, I can head off the nausea before it gets that bad. 

My First Chemo Treatment - Not that bad

On Tuesday April 2nd, I had my first of 8 chemotherapy treatments. My husband accompanied me to the 2 hour long session because we were told that we would be given a lot of information during the first session so he wanted to make sure he didn't miss anything.

Arriving for Chemo

Upon entering the infusion room I noticed that it resembled a strange kind of spa. There was a water cooler, a table set up with coffee, tea, and pastries. There was a semi-circle reception desk in the center of a large room which seemed to curve around the desk. Along the outside of the curved room were smaller 'stalls' with a wall between each.  In each stall was a recliner, 2 upright chairs like you might find in a doctors waiting area, a small end table, and a 24in LCD TV.  Between each of the stalls was a private bathroom with a door to each stall.  The nurses sat at the semi-circle desk watching vitals and keeping an eye on all the stalls' inhabitants. What I noticed most was that the room behind the desk, where I would be looking, was a very pale purple, one of my favorite colors, and seemed soft and warm. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

The nurse escorted me to my private stall and told me to get comfortable in the recliner. She offered me a blanket and a pillow. The recliner was somewhat hard so I took the pillow but declined the blanket because it was nice and warm in the room.  Rory sat on the waiting room chair right next to me. The nurse continued to tell me about what she was about to do.

Preparing the Mediport

The first thing they did was numb my mediport. She did this by spraying this weird substance on my skin where the mediport is for 10 seconds. If you have ever used a liquid wart remover that froze the wart with liquid nitrogen, you probably know what this stuff feels like. It basically froze the mediport. My job was to say when it hurt too bad to take the pain.  I lasted about 10 seconds which is exactly how long the instructions say to spray it for.   The next step would be to tap a needle into my mediport so I am glad I made it the whole 10 seconds.

Before we go on, let me just remind you that I hate my mediport.  I lie in bed in night and feel it throbbing. Other friends of mine who are cancer survivors tell me how much they loved their mediports. I do not have this type of relationship.  I would take a needle in my arm 10 times over tapping my mediport once. I swear they installed it on a nerve, or used a nerve to tie it into place.  I don't know if that is possible, but if it is, that's what they did.

To tap my mediport, the nurse basically puts what looks like a fat thumb tack into my mediport which is right below the skin.  The thumb tack connects via tubing to an entry way, all medicines can either be screwed into the entry way as in the case of IV drugs, or a syringe can puncture the entry way for smaller dose medicines. Luckily for me it was mostly numb from the liquid nitrogen (or whatever that stuff was) but I still felt it.  They cut off my boobs (twice), took 1/4 of my stomach off, and yanked my lymphatic system out of my armpits and I was good. But heaven help you if you touch my mediport... I am likely to hit to ceiling. That is by far my most sensitive place. Apparently the liquid nitrogen numbing agent is optional. That is an option I will never pass up.

My mediport after it was tapped

Once my mediport was connected to the tubing, I was ready to begin.


Step 1 - Emend, an Anti Nausea

The first drug to be administered via my mediport was Emend which is an anti-nausea medicine. They gave that to me first because the real chemo drugs were about 100% likely to make me nauseas.  It was imperative that I not vomit, or at least keep it to a minimum. If I got dehydrated I would have to come back for fluids or possibly be admitted to the hospital. 

 Step 2 - Decadron - another anti-nausea

The second drug they pushed into my mediport was Decadron, a steroidal anti-nausea medicine. I asked the nurse why I needed 2 different anti-nausea medicines at the same time. She told me each one gets rid of nausea by blocking a different neurotransmitter. It would turn out that I really needed this and then some.

Step 3 - Aloxi - yet another anti-nausea

The third drug was a third and final anti-nausea medication. Aloxi is yet another anti-nausea drug which blocks the actions of specific neurotransmitters. What is the difference between these 3? I have no idea, all I know is none of them worked very well.

Step 4 - Some fluids...

After these 3 anti-nausea medications, the nurse put me on some NaCl (saline) just to keep my hydrated.

Step 5 - Cytoxan

The Cytoxan was the first of two of the real chemo drugs. The Cytoxan was a small envelope of medicine that was connected to my mediport and let to drip for about 20 minutes.

Step 6 - Red Devil

The last chemo drug I received was the Adriamycin. The nurse told me that they call this drug the red devil.  If you saw the needle you would know why. First of all, it's terrifying. At this moment I actually thanked God for my mediport.  Secondly, this is the drug that causes all the havoc.  Adriamycin is what causes the nausea. It is also what will eventually claim my hair. I decided then that I hated Adriamycin. Even now writing this, just seeing the word makes me nauseas.

Adriamycin - The Red Devil

 
Step 7 - Rehydrate

The last step of chemotherapy was hydration. It was important that these drugs moved through my body quickly and didn't stay in one place too long.  For this, I needed to remain very well hydrated. Before I left, I had to receive 100 mL of saline to stay hydrated and push the medicines through.  At this point I understood why I needed the blanket. They don't warm up these fluids before they put them into you. I had what felt like ice cold water pulsing through my veins. It didn't take long before I was completely freezing.  Thank you for the blankie!

When I was all pumped up with fluids, I felt better than OK. I was cold, but I felt great! It felt amazing to have them remove the tap from the mediport and I was full of energy (probably the steroids). I went home and ate a great dinner, worked on my business, cleaned the house, and still had some energy to spare. Overall, it was comfortable, not painful, and not really a negative experience.

Day 2 - Neulasta

Within 24 hours of receiving chemotherapy, a follow up shot is given of Neulasta. The Neulasta sends your white blood cells into overdrive. Even if you never knew anyone with cancer, I am sure you heard that cancer patients are very vulnerable to sickness because they are immunosuppressed.  The Neulasta helps prevent the immunosuppression by telling your body to make up to 10x its normal white blood count.  This will make your body feel like you have a cold or the flu, so achiness, soreness, and fever are likely. The white blood cells are made in your bone marrow, so bone pain is likely.

The Neulasta is not administered through the mediport, it is given as a prick in the arm in the upper bicep. If they were looking for muscle there they were going to be disappointed.  Any muscle tone I once had dissolved with a month recovery at home.

I went back on Wednesday April 3rd for my Neulasta shot expecting to have flu-like symptoms by the end of the day. Much to my surprise, I never got the flu-like symptoms.

Day 3 - The shit starts

My 2 days of receiving chemo were both positive experiences. I was convinced that I was blessed and was going to miss the bulk of the scary side effects. For the most part, I was right. I never got bone pain, I never got flu-like symptoms. I was told to expect a bad, metallic taste in my mouth... I never got that. I was told I might puke... that never happened (unfortunately).  You might say that I lucked out.. I only really got one side effect - NAUSEA.

Guest Post - Keeping Hope Alive: My Experience as a Caregiver

The following post was written by Cameron Von St. James. Cameron is the husband to Heather, a Mesothelioma survivor. This is his story about how becoming a caregiver to someone with cancer changed his life.

Nothing in life can prepare you for the moment when you become a caregiver for someone with cancer. I remember the day it happened to me. On November 21, 2005, my wife was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, and our lives plunged into chaos. Just over three months earlier, we were blessed by the birth of our only child, Lily. Now, instead of preparing joyfully for her first Christmas, we were fighting a battle to save Heather’s life and keep our family intact.

Cameron, Lily, and Heather Von St. James

 

 

 

The responsibilities of being a caregiver for a cancer patient fell upon me immediately. When the doctor gave us the news, he explained a little about the disease. Then he explained our treatment options. Heather could be treated at a local university hospital or seek treatment in a regional facility where great oncology work was being done. Neither of these facilities, however, had a dedicated mesothelioma program. The final option was to fly to Boston for treatment under the direction of one of the world’s leading mesothelioma physicians. I looked at Heather, expecting her to respond in some way. She remained silent, but her face screamed for someone to help her. Immediately, I blurted out, “Get us to Boston.” It was the first of many difficult decisions I would have to help make concerning my wife’s care during this time.

  

Over the next two months, chaos ensued. Heather had to quit her full-time job, and I was only able to work part time while caring for her and Lily. Meanwhile, I also needed to make travel arrangements, find care for Lily while Heather underwent treatment in Boston and more. Along with the overwhelmingly long list of things to do, I found myself facing my darkest fears. What if we spent all our money on treatment only for Heather to die anyway? Would I be left alone, a broke widower trying to raise a little girl? More than once, I sank to the floor and sobbed, but that didn’t last long. I needed to be strong for Heather. I never once let her see how hard this was for me. She needed a source of strength, not more fear.

  

Every time things seemed impossible, help would come. It came from family, friends and complete strangers. Sometimes the help was financial. Other times encouraging words gave me the strength to carry on. I learned the importance of accepting help from others. In fact, one of the most important pieces of advice I could give to those who find themselves in this situation is to always accept the help that is available. I learned the hard way that there is no room for pride when you’re battling cancer. Use all of your resources. This will help you make it through the most difficult days.

 

Being a caregiver for a cancer patient is difficult. You will experience stress, uncertainty and a barrage of difficult emotions. Unlike a difficult job or tough classes in school, this responsibility is not something from which you can simply walk away. Allow yourself to feel negative emotions, but do not allow yourself to be overcome by them. Hold onto hope, and continue to use every resource available to help you along the way.

 

Our lives didn’t return to normal for years. My wife underwent major mesothelioma surgery, chemotherapy and radiation over the following months. Finally, despite the odds against her, she was declared cancer free and remains so to this day.

When our daughter was two years old, I returned to school while continuing to work full time. I graduated from my studies in information technology with high honors, and my class selected me as the speaker for commencement. I remember speaking of my wife’s cancer diagnosis. Had anyone asked on that day, receiving the diagnosis, where I would be in five years, I would never have guessed that I would be graduating, having accomplished a lifelong dream and celebrating it with my healthy wife and daughter. Never give up hope, and always keep fighting for the ones you love.

 

Cameron is a member of the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. To follow Cameron's story, visit his blog at ://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/

Wig Shopping!

Two things are for certain: #1 I will live through this. #2 My hair will fall out.

God Sent a Blessing

I was so lucky to meet a girl named Anne in the waiting room the last time I went to Dr Burke's office. She was getting her last saline injection into her breast expanders. Her next visit will be to get permanent implants. I was so jealous.  As luck for me has it, Anne also sees Dr. Dougherty. She has Invasive Ductile Carcinoma just like me. She got 16 weeks of chemotherapy, just like I will.  She received the same chemo drugs I will be receiving.  She is basically the mirror image of me, only she is just finishing her treatments whereas I have just started mine. She was a gift from God. A day has not gone by since last Wednesday when I met her that I haven't texted with her. She is preparing me for what is in store.

Anne told me that I would have about 3 weeks from the date of my first treatment before my hair would fall out. I would get one treatment. I would get a second treatment 2 weeks later. Then my hair would fall out within a few days. She said if I plan on wearing wigs, be prepared. Once your hair starts to fall out, your scalp will be in a lot of pain. Sore to the touch. She said at this point, you will not want to try on wigs because your head will hurt. So get prepared while you feel good.  So I decided to make a party out of wig shopping!

Wig Shopping

Since I start work on Monday and chemo on Tuesday, I figure I have a few good days left in me.  Ha, I laugh because these are the good days! I feel like shit! But everyone tells me that once I get the chemo things will get worse.  Sunday is Easter so I planned my wig escapade for the Saturday before Easter.

I could not think of a better person to go wig shopping with than my best friend since fourth grade, Kelly.  Kelly is who I went out with the weekend after I had my biopsy.  We never really hang out anymore because we both have kids, and careers, and houses, and other things that demand all our time.  But when I had my biopsy, I had such a strong feeling that I reached out to her to come over and hang out.  I also reached out to some other people who I felt deserved my attention... thank you's that were overdue, "Hey, how you been's" that should have come years ago. When I was waiting for my biopsy results, I told everyone it was nothing, it was an overcautious doctor, but I knew. I didn't know for sure that I had breast cancer.  I did know for sure, though, that nothing would be the same again.  And I knew enough to call Kelly. 

So when it came time to have some fun, I called my adventurous best friend, and she brought her Mom. It was great, it felt like we were kids again and Diane (her Mom) was driving us to the McKinley Mall.  It made me feel like what it probably would have felt like if I went wig shopping with my own Mom. 

We started our day going for lunch at Red Lobster.  Over the past 3 weeks I have watched a lot of HGTV. I didn't want to, but this is what Rory does for fun. Every commercial break featured Red Lobster's Lobsterfest.  Their food isn't that great. It never looks for real like it does in the pictures or on the commercials. But I tell you, marketers are in business because of me. I am visually motivated.  I buy things because I see them on TV.  After 3 weeks of watching this commercial, there was no way I was returning to work on Monday without Red Lobster.  Much to my liking, my food actually did look like the pictures! I got the Lobster Lovers Feast... a Maine Lobster tail, a rock lobster tail, and seafood alfredo with fresh broccoli.  I shouldn't have eaten the alfredo, but I was happy.

Jain Lee Wigs

I called ahead to get their Saturday hours and learned that Jain Lee Wigs requests an appoinment. So I made our appointment for 2pm, right after Red Lobster. The lady working that day was about 65 years old and clearly sporting one of their wigs. She used a walker to get around, so I felt guilty when she insisted on personally holding on to every wig I wanted to try on... because I wanted to try on a lot.

Some people look for a wig that looks exactly like their own hair so that nobody will know that their hair fell out.  I am not one of those people. I write this blog and post it for everyone to see. Everyone will know that my hair is gone.  I am not trying to fool anyone.  So I am going to look for a wig that personifies someone that I always wanted to be.  I want a hairdo that I could never get my real hair to do. I want a wig that will easily give me a risque hairdo that I would be too scared to give myself.  And so I did not count out anything.

I say this, but then most of what I tried on was brown hair (my natural color) with a length between my ears and shoulder (my normal hair length).  They looked incredibly real. Too real. I could do this to my hair any time. Although it didn't look as natural, I was going for something else... it just took me a little longer to get comfortable with it.  I decided on one really short wig for the summer. It is short and sassy and reminded me of an old friend of mine, Brandi, who was the spunkiest person I know. So I named my wig after her. What makes 'Brandi' even better is that she was a gift from my best friend, Kelly, and her Mom, Diane. :o)




My 'Brandi' Wig - Short and sassy and RED!

 

 Then I bought a second wig for the cooler days and named her Jennifer. You can clearly see why. It looks just like Jennifer Anniston. I have no love for Jennifer Anniston, but I have ALWAYS wanted longer hair, and my hair just won't grow this long. Once it reaches my shoulders it gets frizzy and flat on top.  I have highlighted my hair this color before and it looked great on me, but the length would never happen. Now I can have my long hair whenever I want! Jennifer was my new favorite.

Jennifer Anniston Wig

It took an hour and a half to decide on Jennifer and Brandi. Jennifer is my favorite although I feel very self conscious in her. Probably because it is so different from my natural cut and color I feel like everyone will know I am wearing a wig... but then again, who cares!

I tried on many other wigs while I was there and some of them almost came home with me!





Loved this Human Hair wig...nobody else did

Had to try at least one blonde. Yep, I am not a blonde

Loved this long hair synthetic but decided on Jennifer instead... pretty close

 

The Mullet - Tried on as a joke, but it actually looked ok

My Jenn Sherman hair - Looked great on her, Bad on me

This is my natural hairstyle before I leave the house. Almost too perfect

 

Everyone loved this red hair - except me

 

My Natural Hair's Last Hoorah

While I was out running errands last Thursday I decided that I had to do something cool to my hair. It is scheduled to fall out in 3 weeks. If you had to deal with your own hair for 3 weeks and then it was gone, what would you do?  Me too. I dyed it pink!

I would have done blonde and more pink, but I went to Bangs and they wanted to charge me $175.  I am adventurous, but I am not stupid. I wouldn't pay $175 for the best haircut of my entire life let alone a unique haircut that was going to last 3 weeks.  Honestly, this hairdo wasn't worth more than $50 but I happened to get my tax return that morning so I was feeling a litttle loose in the wallet. I told the girl not to go over $100 and do something cool. This is what I got! I only have to deal with it for 3 weeks but wouldn't you know it - I love it!

My Natural Hair's Last Big Party!