Bald is Beautiful!

Hey there, everyone!

After my last post, I have the new report that, yes, my hair is almost all gone. Friday my smooth, shiny hair somehow became so matted and tangled that we couldn't get a brush through it...it must have somehow been from the chemo. My Mommy gave me a haircut and although I cried at the first few snips, I was SO happy when I looked in the mirror! She was able to save a lot of the hair in the front and on top of my head, and I actually thought it turned out to be a very cute style. Here's what it looked like that night:

For that night and most of Saturday, it was really comforting to have short hair to help me transition to being a baldy! Saturday night more hair fell out and I started getting some bald spots, so this morning I asked my fabulous stylist (aka Mommy :)) to cut it much shorter so the spots don't bother me as much. Now I have VERY thin, VERY blond hair that my Mom and I are calling "baby hair"! I have always had thick, brown-blond hair, but now it's super fine and a lighter blond than I have EVER seen in my hair! Since I have bald spots, I decided it was time to practice tying some cute scarves and bandannas around my head, so my Mom picked some up to try. I really like the look they give me, and my Mom keeps saying that my head is the perfect shape for scarves!! Haha!

I also got a surprise package today from my best friend's aunt and her family. I was overwhelmed with how far my story had spread and how much people cared that they would put together a wonderful gift to make me smile! One of the things in the package was a big stuffed animal doggy...I don't know if Julia told them a dog was my favorite animal, but I am IN LOVE with my new buddy!! I haven't named him yet, but I did want to take some pictures with him to show you guys my new 'do! Here's some pics:

Me with my pretty pink scarf! I love it! :)

My new puppy <3

We wanted to match...haha

Chi-Town pride!!! The sequined "cubbies" hat was a gift from one of our family friend and one of the BEST surprises ever...definitely my favorite hat!! Also, our Child Life Specialist here on the peds floor, Megan, has a friend who "blinged" my other cubs hat! LOVE IT!

I am realizing more and more that, as I said on my last post, beauty is so much more than physical appearance. I look in the mirror, scarf on my almost-bald head, glasses instead of contact lenses, no makeup, and a big t-shirt...and I can honestly say that I feel beautiful! I have this thing where I always smile at myself when I look in the mirror. It gives me confidence and reminds me how much beauty a simple smile can add to anyone's face. I did it when I was back at school and I wore cute clothes (that weren't pajamas!) and had hair and bothered with makeup, and now I still do it standing in my hospital bathroom. Yes, I've lost my hair and my contact lenses (too much risk for germs), but that doesn't mean I'm any less pretty than I used to be! I just have a few more accessories, and I think my glasses and scarves are pretty darn cute. ;) This experience is teaching me more about beauty and self-confidence than I would ever have learned otherwise, and I am so grateful for such a wonderful lesson I'll keep with me for the rest of my life.

Well, enough rambling for tonight. My nurse told me to tell everyone on my blog that the peds nurses on my floor say hi!!! They are the most wonderful team of people and I am SO blessed to have them all taking care of me and having my back. They aren't just treating my physical symptoms; they honestly care about my story, who I am, how I'm feeling, etc. It's amazing to have such a great group advocating for me!

To end my update, not too much has changed recently. I am still "neutropenic" from chemo, meaning my white blood cells, the cells that fight infection, are extremely low, so my immune system is pretty much gone. It's just a waiting game until those cell numbers to go back up and some of the painful side effects I'm having subside. Once all of that happens, I get to go home for a little bit before the next round of chemo! Yes! :)

Here are a few more pics for you guys, enjoy! Love love love all around as always!

<3,

Sarah

My cousin Evamarie and I built the most adorable castle EVER, complete with lots of surgical tape instead of glue ("everything included" was a lie!) while watching Grey's Anatomy :) SO much fun! Thanks Auntie Barb for the awesome kit!!

One more cool story: my little brother Ben's baseball coach made me an honorary member of the team by making a special jersey and hat for me..they even put my name on both!! For their tournament last week all of the boys put orange ribbons on their sleeves like the one on mine above as a sign of support for our family. It was AMAZING to get that uniform, and it was even better for my brother to know that his whole team had his back. THANKS, SWARM!! :D