The day after Kat was admitted to the hospital, we got to sit down with the oncologist and go over the results of the testing on what type of Leukemia she has. We discussed the basic treatment plan, the next month of treatment including going over all the known possible side effects of every drug used in this phase of the protocol. I held it together until hair loss.
It's not like I didn't know that was coming, or even the worst of them. It was just the straw that broke the camels back. It was the most outwardly visible sign that my baby has cancer. That they have to warn you of everything you are signing your life away to make your kid weaker, more prone to all sorts of problems and to make them bald for a while to top it off.
Around day 13 of induction, she had scalp pain and I knew what was coming next. The next day or two was when it started falling out, and it hasn't really stopped. We have talked wigs and hats and getting a hair cut to make it easier, but this is what she wants, to just let it happen. She got really sad and afraid people will make fun of her for her hairloss, but we promised we'd make sure her classmates understand it's the medicine that's making it fall out and it's not funny.
You want to be able to protect them and then something like this happens and you realize how vulnerable all of us really are. There is no protecting them from all of this, only being supportive and reassuring and being an advocate for them when they need it.
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