A f(h)airy tale

Once upon a time in a land of straight lines and flat horizons there was a little red-haired girl who loved curls. She loved all that they offered: the bounce, the energy, the volume. It was her belief that curly hair suited her much more than the straight hair she was born with so she had curls set freshly every four months.

Then one day, a day which began like many others, she found herself on an unexpected journey. With the help of her Blanket of Love and Support and her medical team (which included some mighty feisty piranhas) she would head out through unfamiliar terrain. Her treatment plan which would map her course was set: chemo and surgery and radiation. Oh my!

She had been told that chemotherapy would be the curl's demise. (Had she known she was going to get cancer I can assure you she would not have just permed her hair.) Piranhas, while being a toothy adversary, were not discriminating in their eating habits. Brawn, not brains, was their specialty so they would go after all the fast replicating cells in her body which included the hair.

So to prepare for the eminent fallout, off came the freshly set locks. The cut looked like a flashback to the eighties but that was a short-lived amusement: the piranhas did their good work and chomped and chomped and chomped. Out the hair fell in profusion until there were only a few stalwarts remaining. Having always been a saver, she kept The Few until new downy fuzz came in, then her sister helped trim them off.

It's now been a year since the girl and the curl parted ways. New hair has come in where there once was none. The color has changed- it is no longer red- and were it longer it would sport the classic chemo curl. Both are common side effects of the drug therapy.

So where does the little (formerly) red-haired girl go now? As with any epic journey, she has returned to her life changed. Her long-standing rule about 'bangs, always bangs' has been strewn, along with the red curls, to the side of the road. She’ll let go and trust: an abundant world full of beauty awaits!

So stay tuned... the hair isn't the only thing changed on this unexpected journey.