Joyce texted me this morning, "What time do we have to go to get my hair done? What do I need to do to get ready?"
She needed to dress and to eat something. I knew she would refuse breakfast so I asked the RN on her ward for a high protein Boost. She brought three.
She was nervous about the trip until we got in the car. Driving around seemed to soothe her. And when we parked on the street, she got down the sidewalk with no problems at all.
We were 15 minutes early but that let us watch Jose work wonders on some long hair dyed red. He didn't let his client go before he added some red to her eyebrows to match. She was thrilled to have her long hair lighter with a little more body just in time for vacation.
Joyce got her hair shampooed and conditioned at the back of the store before returning to Jose's station at the door. She used to wash her hair in the sink in the garage so this was a treat.
At the Salon. Mouse over or tap for captions.
Jose, who was recommended to use by Annette when I was desperately looking for a salon to take Joyce, was especially considerate of her disabilities. Her difficulty getting in and out of chairs and her anxiety about the unfamiliar process.
He'd been through it with his father, apparently. We talked a little about nursing homes and her cancer and surgeries and wound. And the dementia.
When we got back to his station, I showed him an old photo of Joyce when she had stopped coloring her hair and he took it from there. Her hair is naturally curly and thick. It just needs to be washed more frequently to keep the scalp healthy.
Some nursing homes bring their patients to the salon for that. Just a wash and blow-dry every week. Something to think about.
He cut quite a bit off and left some bangs, giving it a little volume with a curling iron and shape with the blower that is easy to care for on daily basis.
We made an appointment for six weeks to do it again.
I'd say no one recognized her when she returned to Golden Heights but she was bombarded with compliments as she walked back to her room.
