Furminator

I have been craving one of these fine hair-removal tools for several years now, but Seattle (read: Amazon) prices seemed high for a glorified dog brush. But then I saw one at the Potlatch Veterinary clinic when I was recently in Idaho (I was there primarily to pick up meds for the horses, NOT for Spackle, although I did pick up a flat of canned dog food for him in case his belly hadn’t adjusted well to the other food, but it had), and like other things I’ve paid for at the Potlatch Veterinary clinic, it was significantly cheaper than something purchased over here in the western half of the state.

I thought I was getting it for Spackle, whose thick Labrador undercoat sloughs out twice a year, but in the shower this morning it became clear that MY hair is shedding more than either dog’s right now, and so maybe I should try it on myself. I assume that the Gemcitabine is what is causing my current hair loss. It’s been so long since I’ve had an obviously therapy-induced spate of balding—almost 4 years—that I was no longer expecting such a thing to happen. But I’ve been on the Gemcitabine maybe 3 months now, and non-obvious thinning seems to have been replaced, all of a sudden, with serious deforestation.

My first thought when I noticed was, tellingly, not despairing, but hopeful—maybe my pate really has been thin because of the Navelbine and the Gemcitabine (a warning issued with both drugs), and maybe in a few months I will, again, have a chance to regrow everything, and it will come back in thicker!

In the meantime, I’m assessing my hats and headscarves.