The other day while waiting to be seated at a restaurant I noticed a couple walk in. I was intrigued by the young woman because she had a wad of hair stuck to the back of her dress. I wanted to pull her aside to inform her, but couldn’t think of an opening statement. I practiced in my head, “Excuse me, but you have a nest of hair on the back of your dress.” Of course I did not say a word, but I wondered how and why this happened to her. That image never left me, and now I wonder if I’m being punished for being a busybody because my hair is not only falling out but it’s actually shedding.
Dr. Google
It started about two weeks ago. I noticed a lot of hair on the light-colored tile floor of my bathroom. When I brushed my hair after washing it, the brush was covered with so much hair! Immediately I made a virtual consultation with Dr. Google. Sure enough, this is COVID-related, so I’m suffering from an episode of telogen effluvium. It’s several months later, but I’m still being affected by the aftermath of this virus.
When I color my hair at home I usually make a big mess. It’s inevitable that I get color on either my arms, under my right thumbnail or both. The last time I colored my hair, all of my nails had this dark pigment. I knew it was not the hair dye, so, again, I asked Dr. Google for help. Yep, now I’ve developed melanonychia. Turns out that this, too, is from COVID. Both of these side effects are not life-threatening. All will return to normal in six to nine months, and eventually all my hair will grow back.
Halitosis
The latest side effect is offensive; I suffer from this strange smell living in my mouth. I know it’s there because when I brush my teeth, it seems to activate something and the stench is stronger. I asked Mike, “Have you noticed if I have bad breath?” He smiled at me and said, “Yes, I was going to say something, but I didn’t want to upset you.” The masks, which I loathe, are now my constant companions; and now I respect the six-feet of distancing requirement. I’ve become a prisoner of my own bad breath. I’m still researching if this has anything to do with COVID. I suspect it has to do with something in my intestines, so I called my primary care physician to make an appointment with the gastroenterologist. Evidently, due to understaffing, the appointment is not until the end of November and that’s just for a consultation!
Chewing gum does work for bad breath, but it’s only for a few minutes. I’ve never been a fan of chewing gum because I don’t know what to do with the chewed-up gum. I would never discard it on the ground or spit it out while driving. So I wrap it into an old receipt and keep it in my purse until it ruins the bottom of my handbag. One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing gum on the sidewalks. Chewing gum is resilient and it develops a second life when the weather gets really hot. It finds its new home on the bottom of your shoes. You can’t get into your car with this adhesive on your shoes; it has to be cleaned off. For this reason Disneyland does not sell any sort of gum on its premises.
Remaining Faithful
On Tuesday I have an appointment to see how many antibodies I have left from the virus. I’m praying about which steps to take next. Despite these setbacks I have chosen to remain faithful; nothing is going to get me off track with serving God. All testings are designed to make us draw closer to Him. Even though I lament about this situation, I have no anger or blame for what I’m enduring. If God was with me during the worst part of COVID, He is with me through these minuscule problems. Something beautiful always comes from overcoming serious trials in our lives.
Drawing Closer To God
If you give up because you believe that you can’t take it any longer, you are missing the biggest blessings that God has in store for you. Blessings are part of the reward and you must learn to go through these everyday battles, knowing that you are being prepared for the war. As Christians we are going to experience persecution; in each battle we are being built up to fight whatever the Devil throws our way. With each victory comes the confidence to remain steadfast in your trust and to remain faithful. You can choose to crawl into a hole and wait for the storms to pass, or you can rise up and face the attacks. Job lost his family and all of his many possessions; he was in complete disarray. But one thing set him apart from the rest of us: he never cursed God. In his anguish he experienced so much emotional distress that his wife suggested that he should curse God and die.
Job had an ear to hear God; though he heard the negative voices, he shut them out because he remained faithful and trusted that God would see him through. We must take into account that Job was an extremely wealthy man, but because of his faithfulness he received twice as much has he had before.
