Being in CancerLand, I've become friends with many other cancer parents. Even though I'm immersed in the world, it's still shocking to me to see the difference in their BC child (before cancer) and OT child (on treatment).Unlike real life, I usually see these backwards. I see the child while on treatment, then at some point, I get to see a picture of them before diagnosis.
Every time, it's a shock. They're sooo different. Bald, no eyebrows or eyelashes ... then you see the older picture and they look so ... normal.
Well, now I'm living it. Last time, LW was a baby, so she didn't have much hair to lose -- and since she was on a 50% dose, she didn't lose much, anyway. Never lost her eyebrows nor eyelashes, either.
This time ... wow. What a difference. Living it, what is shocking is when I look back. That picture at the top, it was from Easter. Really, did she look like that? This other one, I took the other day.
Not even 6 months.Go ahead and flip back and forth between the two pictures. I did.
It's interesting how much our individuality comes out in our eyebrows, lashes, and hair. If you get a bunch of cancer kids together, many of them look like siblings.
I guess it's kind of like the "all Asians look alike." We've all got lazy eyes. We go around noticing all the prominent stuff, so when that's the same, whether it's all black hair, or all no hair, our eyes aren't as attuned to picking up the more subtle things. Unless you're actually living in black hair land or no hair land.
I haven't taken home someone else's cancer kid by mistake. Yet.
It tugs at my heart to see the change, I can't imagine what it feels like to be the mother.
ReplyDeleteI had a good friend from Hong Kong when I was in college. She flew to Lincoln NE from Hong Kong and told me later that when she got off the plane she though "all Americans look alike and they're all so ugly." She was in the states for 3 years before she could go home again. When she got back to Hong Kong she got off the plane and thought "all Chinese look alike and they're all so ugly." I guess its just what you're used to. . . ..
I would add that she is equally adorable in both photos.
ReplyDeleteShe is a beautiful kid in both pictures. That smile and those gorgeous features! What a knockout!
ReplyDeleteShe's very beautiful, even without hair. And it grows back.... Amazing how different people look without hair, or even just a change of hairdo sometimes.
ReplyDelete