Mary

I had my bilateral mastectomy 2 weeks prior to going to Turning Heads, and it was a really enjoyable day after what I had been going through for months prior. When I was diagnosed with Stage III Breast Cancer, two days before Thanksgiving 2014, I was in such a state of shock and denial, that my husband and I were the only ones that knew until a couple of days before my first chemotherapy session. Through the testing, I would bake the different doctors’ offices deserts when I had an appointment. The girls in the offices didn’t know what to say to me, with me bringing in baked goods and I didn’t know what I was really getting involved in, though they probably had their suspicions. When I found out that I was going in for chemotherapy and would loose my hair, I went out to look for wigs. It was day 10 after my first round of chemo that I was really shocked at the amount of hair I was loosing. The next day I went to get my head shaved and pick up the wigs. At the time it was very hard to see the progression of loosing my hair and then to see me in a mirror with no hair. The wigs were my hide away, because I looked so much more normal. Once chemotherapy started, I was so fatigued I couldn’t stand in the kitchen to complete any food planning I had started. One of my five sisters took time off work to take me to my chemotherapy sessions. It was nice to have her there for support. She knew I was baking for my appointments and she was happy to help me out and baked for me. For me, baking was a gesture of thanks towards the different offices which helped me and everybody else out for what we were going through. Going to Turning Heads was a really nice day spent with three of my other sisters and my daughter. Getting all dressed up and getting makeup applied was a real comfort and very exciting! The hair part was so care free! It was all so easy. I just had to show up for the performance and enjoy! I want to thank you Turning Heads for making the day so easy and special.