Day 22, Chemo Round 1 :: Let It Go!

It is still princess hair... even if not atop her head.

After a couple of weeks of watching Jade's hair grow more brittle and her pillowcases become covered in tiny little hairs, we took the plunge and shaved her head. In true Jade form, she was a trooper about it and her playful spirit shined throughout.

She had already observed that the kids on this floor don't have hair and that hers had begun to fall out when she played in it, when she changed clothes, etc. She asked why her hair was falling out.  Instead of saying that the medicine we are giving you is toxic, I explained that the cells that were making her blood sick were also making her hair fall out.  They just like her so much, they want to be everywhere!  So, in order to help get rid of the bad cells, we would have to let some things go to make room for healthier, stronger hair cells and blood cells to grow back.  (She accepted that pretty well; she would like red, wavy hair to grow back.)
 
Shortly after I sat Jade down in front of me and began to brush her curls out, she took over and pulled the rest out on her own. Then, she gave big brother a lesson in how to sit still when your head is being shaved, saying, "Look, Jaytoe. It doesn't hurt!"

When all was said and done, she played with the masses of her hair that we had collected into a bag -- singing "Let It Go," performing her own rendition of "Single Ladies," and throwing it as us at one point while screaming, "Hair fight!" Tomorrow, we will make a project with some of it per her request.

Thank you for checking in our brave little one and for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support.

Today's Counts:
Hemoglobin: 7.7 (down from yesterday's 8.6)
Platelets: 17 (down from yesterday's 34)
ANC: 0
Monocytes: 0