82. Chemo Passport Picture

My good friend Mie and I discussed a long time ago that we should do something special for our 65th birthdays.  Never having been there, we decided on a week-long stay in New York.  Then Covid hit and New York was one of the worst places to go, so we had to shelve that idea.  Last year, before I knew I was having cancer, we were eying the island of Ibiza.  Unfortunately that was not to be either.  With the chemo treatments behind me, I have been daydreaming a bit about travelling again.  Which made me think about my passport, whether or not it has expired and should I be needing a new passport picture?  So I decided to take this a step further and got a chemo passport picture taken.  Here is what happened...

I went to the local drug store.  I was wearing my glasses as usual, a mask and a hat and asked the store clerk to take my photo.  She said yes but I would have to take off my glasses, mask and hat.  I responded that the glasses and mask were no problem but that I needed to wear my hat due to chemo.  She said she would go ask her supervisor.  The supervisor said that the hat needed to come off because I would need to "look as close as possible to being dead" upon which the clerk and I glanced at each other and smiled feebly.  The clerk quickly added that it was for "identification purposes should I "perish" in a strange land".  She apologized and said she didn't mean...Then we both burst out laughing.  I asked if I could wear a wig instead of the hat.  The supervisor said yes.  So after one of my last chemo sessions I visited the wig-bank of the cancer clinic.  It was a pleasant surprise!  I half expected a cluttered rummage-sale style place.  On the contrary, all wigs and head gear are neat and tidy and nicely displayed.  There is also a nifty anno 1950 boudoir-like corner with mirror and brushes and a nylon net to cover your remaining hair or bald head.  If I, and the lady who takes care of the place, would have had lots of time, I would have liked to try them all!  But I didn't.  So I chose this one. (see next post)  My husband did a double-take when he saw me wearing it.  (Reflecting on my husband's reaction I should have borrowed a different wig after each chemo session! 😉)  I returned it after the photo shoot!

If (and that's a big if), if I get brave enough to shave the rest of my remaining hair, I may post the wig picture and the baldy-head picture together at a later date, (maybe.)

Next weekend is a long weekend.  Camping season is starting!  Back on Monday or Tuesday with a camping/glamping story.  Also next week a brief recount of Surgery day of September last year.  Spoiler alert: I survived the surgery!  😄  Enjoy the weekend!  SanTeh!