Pill after pill, IV after IV, injection after injection, I was physically and emotionally drained. Still, the hardest pill to swallow was the idea that I might lose my looks and the ability to function normally for the rest of my life. I thought, this can’t happen to someone who is pretty, popular, and active, can it? As vain as that might sound, it is the absolute truth. As a young woman in school and working full-time, with many friends and extracurricular endeavors, I couldn’t even fathom how much life was changing before my eyes.
I desperately sought out ideas and advice from chronic illness and autoimmune disease blogs like the Vasculitis Foundation. Still, I found little comfort in knowing that nobody in my immediate circle of family and friends knew what exactly what I was going through.
During my hospital stays and my days at home, I purposely chose to be alone most of the time. I didn’t want people who were close to me to become worried or even scared. Every now and then I’d make an appearance at a family function or a get-together with friends, but I never stayed the whole time. I often found myself going home to write in my poetry book and just ponder.
It was one of those days that I came across a website called NaturallyCurly.com. I found an article on “chemo curls”. This introduced to me the idea that I could possibly regain my grasp on my appearance by actually embracing my hair’s natural texture. I hadn’t thought of such an idea ever in my life (I’d been relaxing my hair since the age of 5″>.
Through the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 I paid close attention to what I needed to change to adjust to my physical appearance the best I could. There were a few old habits that needed to be broken immediately. As far as my hair goes, I stopped relaxing, brushing, and dyeing it at home. I started getting regular trims, braiding my hair at night, sleeping with a satin cap, and slowed down my flat iron usage. Thus my full transitioning process ensued.
Find out more about Devri’s Hair & Health Journey here.