“It’s a message,” I told my husband. “I’m going to start covering my hair. Hashem wants to protect me”
Shabbos was the only time I wore a head covering — a tiny “kippah fall” that covered the crown of my head and blended perfectly with my own natural hair.
Then, three years ago, Hashem sent me on a journey that changed everything. It started with a simple sinus infection. I took an antibiotic for it and my stomach completely fell apart. Having suffered from IBS my whole life, I assumed this was just another terrible flare-up, and I spent the entire year feeling extremely sick. I didn’t bother going to a GI doctor; after 20 years of suffering with no answers, I didn’t think anyone could help me.
Because my body was not absorbing nutrients correctly, my hair slowly started to break and thin. I felt like I was losing a piece of my identity. At first the hair damage was subtle, but by month nine, my hairstylist was able to lift up pieces of short, broken strands all over my head. I’d had no idea it had gotten this bad. I asked the stylist to cut my long, once-beautiful hair up to my chin. Each snip was painful.
Eventually, someone pushed me to see a GI specialist, who diagnosed me with ulcerative colitis (UC). Turns out, the antibiotics for the sinus infection had triggered a major flare, and my body was drowning in inflammation, unable to fix itself. I started medication right away.
Create a free account to keep reading.
