Saturday, January 17, 2009

Why I always shave my legs before I head to the hospital

Remember how your mom would always tell you to make sure you change your underwear in case you get in an accident? Ok, maybe that was just my mom. Well, after my umpteen admissions to Shady Grove hospital during my last pregnancy, which always seemed to end up in scans and then some kind of procedure or surgery, I learned to shave my legs before I went no matter how much pain I was in. The last admission ended up being over 3 weeks and after they put me in a constant epidural with wires going into my back I wasn't permitted to shower or shave at all. There were a lot of horrible things about my experience but for someone who is OCD and pretty obssessed with hair removal I thought I would go out of my mind. Shaving our legs is initially a rite of passage for girls that quickly turns into a pain in the you know where. Oh how I have grumbled about the never ending task of shaving. I can honestly say if I won the lottery I would run not walk to have laser hair removal and reclaim hours of my life spent removing hair.

Today I head to the hospital for a CT scan to see what kind of ugly things might lurk in my abdomen causing me so much pain. I thought about just pulling on jeans and a sweatshirt and going like a bum, but then my fear of becoming captive there for some kind of unseen reason took over and all I could think of was, "What if I can't shave my legs!" As I went through my ritual in the shower I realized this is how my mind and heart have changed. Something as silly as shaving has become a reason for praise. Today I am here, healthy enough to shower and yes, remove hair from my legs. It's a good day. It's true, when you lose almost everything the world becomes a different place. Every moment is a gift and my God is always good.

2 comments:

Superhero Mom said...

Oh my I can totally relate. I have the same convictions about shaving my legs. I too was in the hospital so often while pregnant with both my pregnancies. In fact I was on 6 months of very strict bed rest while pregnant with my twins and was told under no circumstances was I even to shower but once a week and forget about bending over for anything. Well, my husband so dutifully shaved my legs twice a week (I was at the doctors at least once a week). Even while staying at the hospital for weeks at time, my dear husband would shave my legs right there in the hospital bed. Oh, but I laugh to think that anyone was even looking at my legs during hospital visits or when I gave birth, but don't you know, not only did I shave my legs, but I had to have cute toenails too (thank you Lord for giving me sweet girlfriends who gave me many a pedicure during those days!) Funny how we are huh? Now that I have children, my legs are shaven but maybe once a week and I haven't had a pedicure in a year!

Natalie said...

Very funny. I'm sure the nurses and doctor's appreciate your extra concern for hygiene. Oh, and way to on the "lemonade" award. You definitely deserve it.

Hope CT scan shows something definitive. Not knowing is sometimes the worst part of the fight