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Friday, February 19, 2010

Hair Loss




Carl Grisa (right) and Anthony on a normal weekend, Carl electing not to shave.


So then I had him shave, and I took this picture.

On Jan 16, 2010, Carl Grisa had me shave his hair off, so that the cancer could not claim it. Three of the four children where off elsewhere with friends, and the chemotherapy was beginning to make hair fall out significantly. This is not something I have any experience in (shaving heads), since all the Grisa's have lots of hair. At first I tried putting chevrons in Carl's hair.

Carl even took phone calls in the middle of the hair cut. (How am I supposed to do a good job?)

Then I decided to go for shaving the words in the back of his head. It wasn't for fun, (this wasn't really a goofy, fun filled hair cut) but because I knew it could be a powerful graphic, and it reflected Carl's feelings. I had figured out by the second word that I couldn't fit all the letters in unless I misspelled sucks. But you get the idea.

I then shaved off the words after I took this photo, and before most of the children got back home. (There is another photo of Carl with a short mohawk, as a British punk rocker, but it looks just wrong.) The children were aware that Dad was going to loose his hair, but they were still surprised.


Here is an after shot with from that night. Ray couldn't stop laughing that he finally had more hair then Carl. [Carl had (and still has) more eyebrow hair, though.]

The next day at church, we sat in the back pew, because the words were still faintly visible after all the hair was shaved off. Who knew? I always wonder if anyone noticed it from the back that day.

Carl, the children, and I now have a hard time remembering what Carl looked like with hair.

Carl's hair - You will be missed, but you shall be back.

5 comments:

Bridget said...

This post is awesome, Jeanne! I hope that someday you can look back it and laugh. I did... only when I read that you had to sit in back of church because you could still see the words "Cancer Suks" on the back of Carl's head. Although, you know, I think it would have been a rather powerful thing (and OK) for people to ponder while in church...

suelmayer said...

Jeanne, I love to see your personality and sense of humor come through even during times of stress and challenge. I think anyone reading the back of Carl's head would have gotten the message loud and clear!! We are praying for all of you!

Unknown said...

Hi Jeanne and Carl,

Please note that you remain on my heart and in my prayers. Feel free to call with further questions. The support group I spoke about meets this week. If you have any interest, I'll be there along with many other concerned friends.

God's Time,

Deb Schiel

Minnie Bhupathi said...

Hi Jeanne,
I just wanted to let you know, you are frequently in my thoughts; my best wishes to Carl and your wonderful family in this difficult time.
Your blog is very moving and I am truly amazed and impressed at your strength.
Good luck with everything.

Minnie

Unknown said...

I don't know Jeanne,
I think that you DO have a talent for haircuts. ... and Carl's quite stylish with his new look.

Your family is in our thoughts and prayers.
Here's to a better tomorrow!