Trust God Over Google

Before you search the Internet...

Recently, I noticed I was having some strange medical symptoms. I am a strong believer that if something seems not right, you should have it checked out. I also have to admit that I have problems with patience which tend to exacerbate other feelings like worry and anxiety. I am a work in progress... In short, the week-long wait before my doctor’s appointment seemed like an eternity. I had to take action...

The Problem

People do not always look like what they are going through. Dress from Best You Clothing

After returning home from my morning walk, I headed to the shower.  It was like any other day. The hot water flowed down my face like a stream would follow its path down a mountain side.  I grabbed my shampoo off the shower shelf and gently began to stroke and massage my scalp. I was thinking about all the things on my to-do list for that day and enjoying my last minutes of relaxation before the rush began.  I leaned back slightly to rinse my hair.  Suddenly, I heard “bloop, bloop, bloop”. I looked down and near my feet were three handfuls of hair. They sat like boulders on the shower floor.  The water's flow was too weak to overcome their mass and push them to the drain.  I quickly grabbed my towel and stepped over to the sink. I used my fingers to search for the source, but my brittle strands wrapped around them like vines. My hands were covered in more hair. Instantly I thought I needed to call to make an appointment.  This amount of hair loss was nothing similar to what a normal person would lose in a day, week, or month.  I explained that nothing changed since my last visit... same vitamins, same everything... what could have caused this problem. The first available doctor’s appointment was a week away... I yelled, “I’ll take it”.

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Searching for Answers

Use a journal to organize your thoughts and prayer lists. Journal from Grown Folk Motto

I laid the phone down and was disappointed that they could not see me the same day.  Do they not care how upset I am... how scared I am... what about my family history?  When you have lost people close to you, all those feelings begin to resurface. If they were not going to treat this as a medical emergency, then I will work on it myself until that appointment gets here. 
Where’s my IPad?  Google search: sudden hair loss... then self diagnosis based on the results... Anemia? Cancer? Lupus? Diabetes? Numerous autoimmune diseases? I did not like any of those answers, but what did I think I would find? I wanted to find something on the Internet that said, “”Carla, you are ok.” That did not happen. Let me start calling my "human resources" — My sister and niece are nurse practitioners... neither were home.  My husband was at work...no answer. Several friends...did not pick up.  Oh Lord, what can I do?  Finally, I got some common sense.   

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The Solution

Through prayer everything is possible.

​All the searching for answers and feeling all alone during the discovery ended when I asked the one question that I should have asked before the Google search.  I wasted nearly half of my day looking for answers instead of leaning on God.  “Lord, will you please help me?” When I started to pray, I felt a calm starting to cover me. I prayed for the Lord to guide my thoughts and mind. I prayed for fear to leave and for patience to take over for the days to come. It was not easy for the next few days when each time I brushed my hair I was reminded of the monstrous possibilities that could be brewing.  What I realize now is that with each day of prayer, there was less and less hair in my brush. By the time my appointment came around, my hair loss had declined significantly. They sent me for several tests over the next month. I wore my hair out embracing my natural curl patterns trying to prevent more loss. In all this, prayer was making me more confident. In the end, my doctor did not find anything in my blood work or in the test results that could have led to hair loss. It was categorized as stress-related, but I learned an invaluable lesson. Never will I rely on Google for answers to things only God can resolve.  Always rely on your Faith first and foremost. God will help guide your way through tough times and even the good ones. Pray everyday.

Feel free to comment, share, and like to support my blog. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. — Carla   
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