Taxotere #2 and My Mom's New Hair

I was dreading my mom's second round of Taxotere since the first made her feel miserable. She felt like she had the flu and experienced extreme fatigue. She was out of breadth just sitting up. All her hair has pretty much fallen off, which makes her depressed and confirms that she's sick. When you look normal or like everyone else, you can sometimes forget about the disease, but when it's staring at you in the face, it's weighs heavy in the heart. My mom gets tired of dealing with this disease and I sometimes am at a loss of comforting words to say, so I just give her a hug. For the second round of Taxotere, the nurse informed us that she would be getting Neulasta the day after to boost her white blood cell count. Neulasta can cause some unpleasant side effects like bone achiness and headaches. To combat those side effects, I had my mom take Claritan-D before, day of, and a few days after the Neulasta injection. (Side note- Claritan-D is now only available behind the counter at the pharmacy, because apparently, people have been purchasing it to produce meth). She did not feel well after Taxotere and Neulasta, but the side effects were not as bad as the first. Instead of diarrhea, she was constipated. Instead of being tired to the point of not getting out of bed, she was tired but able to manage. I hate this poison, but I'll love it if it does its job.

Without her hair, I know my mom feels different when all she wants is to just fit in. She had two wigs that she wore regularly, but one did not fit her normal hair style and the other, as my mom put it, looked like dried grass piled on top of her head. It was stiff and did not have any natural bounce to it. So I decided to splurge and get her a wig that I felt would be the most natural looking and comfortable. I went to Voguewigs.com and I found their prices to be reasonable - not super cheap, but not crazy expensive. I purchased the Allure Monofilament Wig by Jon Renau (#6 dark brown color). I think I love it more than my mom does, though I refused to tell her how much I paid for it. Mono Tops (the reason for it being more $$$) give the appearance of actual hair growth straight out of the scalp. Every hair in the monofilament top is individually hand-tied, one strand at a time. Each hair can move and swivel freely, just as hair moves when growing from a follicle. These type of wigs can be styled and parted in any direction, just like natural hair and it's also lighter.

Drum Roll please...

Mom wearing Allure Monofilament Synthetic Wig by Jon Renau

I was super nervous about the purchase because you can't return it if it's opened, and well, how can you tell it looks good if you can't open it? I was going to sell it on ebay if my mom didn't like it. But the wig arrived and Mama Lee approves, though it's a little fuller in the front than she's used to. Also, because it's so thin, my mom says wearing in during windy cold weather makes her head feel cold. I personally think you can't even tell it's a wig, but maybe I'm biased. I hope my mom won't feel self-conscious anymore because she's lovely, inside and out.

TIP: I have found that a wine gift bag makes for a great wig holder. You need something long and narrow so it doesn't stretch out. Place something heavy like a candle inside the bag so it doesn't fall and just hang the wig over the bag. Works perfect.