an 80 year old patient who has not cut for 20 years!

[jojo]

Today at work we had a lovely 80 year old patient who has not cut her hair for 20 years. Her hair is the shiniest, silver white classical length with the most beautiful fairy tale endings.

I won't even mention her turquoise coloured eyes.

Guess which nurse got to French braid it? yes me! Hurt my hands like mad, but it was a really good job, even if I say so myself. My first ever French braid on somebody else.

I had to share this with you guys, thought you would understand my delight in seeing such gorgeous hair.

[spidermom]

That must have been a treat.

[AJoifulNoise]

Oh wow, what an opportunity! Her hair sounds beautiful!

[EllisGurl]

Wow!!! Very cool!! It would have been great if you'd been able to get some pics!!!

[Delila]

What a treat, and how lovely that you were able to help her.

[jojo]

It certainly was a treat, she is a lovely lady but has no visitors, so it was really lovely to spend some quality time with her.


I am quite excited at doing her hair up again tomorrow, I would love to take some photos of her hair it is truly spectacular and she only washes it ( well we have to wash it for her now) once a week, maybe this is the secret to luscious locks?


I even got to learn some new words! but to share them would break LHC rules;) I just love old people with great characters!

[Lamb]

That must have been a lovely experience both for you, and for her. I reckon there are not many people around her who appreciate having the honor to braid/wash her ultra-long hair for her, and old people love this sort of attention.

[jesamyn]

It sounds like you had a fabulous time, and I'll bet she did too! Her hair sounds gorgeous.

[DecafJane]

That is wonderful, Jojo! I'll bet she loved having somebody else pay attention to her hair, too. :)

[suicides_eve]

wow i hope my hair will still grow when i am 80.
That is quite an accomplishment to have such long beautiful hair at that age

[Sidani]

That's so cool! I would have loved having an experience like that. I love to sit and talk with older folks .. let them tell their stories. It's wonderful that you paid attention to her, jojo, I'm sure you made her day as much as she made yours. :flowers: I'm sure she's very lonely.

[BlackfootHair]

Wow, how lucky! What language were you learning choice words in? :D

[Morag]

Oh, what fun! I'll bet she loved having you do it, too.

[morningstar]

I think this is wonderful. Getting to spend some time with someone who has no visitors and doing something as simple as braiding her hair probably was a highlight in her lonely day. I can't imagine what it must be like to be 80 and have no one. I hope you get the opportunity to see her again and perhaps braid her hair. Maybe she will share some of her life with you.

[Forever_Sophie]

Aw, that's lovely. I'm sure she enjoyed your spending time w/ her and braiding her hair!

[Xandergrammy]

Lucky ladies- both of you!! I surely wish you could take a photo too. Her hair and the braid you made sound beautiful!

[MissHair]

Oh wow next time ask for a photo! Of just her hair not her face ofcourse.

[Saranne772]

Thats lovely :D Its wonderful to see long haired older ladies :D

I echo whoever said to ask permission to photo her hair!!! :D

[kate46]

Jojo while I haven't seen any elderly ladies with hair as long as your lady, I have had many patients come in with the most beautiful silver/white locks. It's such an inspiration to me as I continue to grow out my gray and I just love to see the delight in their faces when I tell them so! :)

We have a volunteer hairdresser who comes to the ward every Tuesday, she treats the ladies (and men) to any hair do they wish for free. I am convinced that this lady improves the health of the patients just as much as any medical treatment they receive.

[MadPirateBippy]

Yay old ladies with charecter and loooong hair! I love knowing that there are women out there who manage to avoid poodle hair. :D

PS- I'm another vote for asking for permission to post pictures. :D

[Phalaenopsis]

Backing up the photo request too :D

It must have been fantastic to braid such long beautiful hair :)

[Stagecoach]

It sounds absolutly stunning!

[Silver Strands]

How nice that they didn't insist on cutting all of her hair off
short so they didn't have to be bothered taking care of it.

That must be the most depressing thing for a long haired lady-
to go into a nursing facility and have them cut off hair you've
loved and cared for for years.

How nice of you to take an interest in her and her hair.
I'm sure she really appreciates you.

[AutumnLeaves]

Oh my goodness, Jojo! How awesome! I wish she'd let you take a picture of her. She sounds so lovely! Is she kind of a free-spirit? For some reason that is my thoughts of her! How awesome to be 80 and have friends and fans!

[SHELIAANN1969]

Now that is what I call tender loving care, and caring for your patients.

You are so sweet JoJo, I am sure she really appreciated you fixing her hair and I am sure you gave her about 50 gushing compliments.

That's cool, and I bet you made her year, let alone her day!

[Lixie]

How wonderful that you were able to do that for her, especially as she has no visitors. Her hair sounds beautiful and I'm sure the lady really appreciated your kindness. :)

[Marysmirth]

Oh, my! I want to be just like her!

[Sana]

Wow that must be so rewarding! I hope that I can have hair like that when I am 80:)

[GlennaGirl]

She must have absolutely loved your French-braiding her hair. How kind of you. That sounds just wonderful.

[SarieQ]

Oh, that is so wonderful, JOJO! I just love taking time with elderly folks who don't have anyone else. They are so lonely and it means the world to them just to have someone want to listen to them. What are the odds that it would be an LHC member who's taking care of her!?!

[Nynaeve]

Wow, that sounds like such a good experience. I bet it was fun for the both of you, I would have loved to have seen pics. :p

I know how happy it makes me when someone else braids my hair, I wonder how long it has been since she had someone braid her hair for her. hmm...

It's always great to meet older people with such great character (and of course, long hair, since people seem to think older means you need short hair :rolleyes:). :)



Wow, how lucky! What language were you learning choice words in? :D

I would like to know this as well. :p


I think this is wonderful. Getting to spend some time with someone who has no visitors and doing something as simple as braiding her hair probably was a highlight in her lonely day. I can't imagine what it must be like to be 80 and have no one. I hope you get the opportunity to see her again and perhaps braid her hair. Maybe she will share some of her life with you.

Agreed. I bet you made her very happy by being there with her and giving her and her hair so much enthusiastic attention. :)

[Islandgrrl]

What a great thing, Jojo! I'm sure she's just thrilled that you're willing to take the time to do such a kindness for her! I do hope you get to take pictures of her hair.

[Chamomilemaiden]

Lovely experience... I´m sure she appreciated your care and will be looking forward to see you again :)

[eadwine]

Ohhh how wonderful!!
I remember working for a 90+ one, who had short hair though, but very white! I was the one to take the curlers out, and every week made a compliment on the white hair she had.. her eyes SHONE like there was no tomorrow :D

Made my day alright!

[jojo]

I had another great day with the lady today but didn't get time to put her hair up as I would have liked, just brushed it and did a side braid but we had a great chat.

I asked her what she washed it in, she lives in an old peoples home and from what I could gather they just use cheapo shampoo, she didn't understand what conditioner was.

she even made a compliment about my 'fish plait' (herringbone) saying it looked nice. which was great coming from somebody with such lovely hair.

I won't see her until Saturday but I will ask the sister, she already knows how hair obsessed I am!

I will have to gain permission off the sister of the ward regarding a photo, fingers crossed she will give permission, afterall it only has to show the back of her head.

[jel]

That is such a lovely story, Jojo! This poor lonely old lady must be really happy to have someone like you, both skillful and appreciative, to help her with her hair...

[justinekay]

What a lovely friendship you're making there. Just shows that our "hair obsession" can do good by opening the door to new friends :-)

[Delenn]

This is such a great story. :)

[Sherri]

Wow you must tell her what an inspiration she would be to all of us here at LHC. She sounds like a lovely women. I am glad you are enjoying each other.

[mommy101405]

I used to work in a nursing home. I worked in the kitchen so I didnt care for the patients but I still loved to stop and talk with them. There was one woman who was 101 years old and had beautiful grey classic length hair. She had the most gorgeous vintage combs. Well I guess they weren't vintage to her. She used to put her own hair up every day. She was so stunning. She was one of my favorite parts of working there. Such a joy to be around. Thank you for reminding of her. I hadn't thought about her in a long time :)

[LeaM07]

Great story, jojo. Does the home where she lives have Internet access? Maybe she'd like to join us. :)

[silverwoods]

That would be so cool if she could join us here. She'd bring a lifetime of perspective to caring for healthy, long hair.

[Back_To_Basics]

I also, hope to have healthy hair..if I make it to 80's.
I thought this was a very nice post.

[Intransigentia]

Wow, sounds like she's got the hair I want when I grow up! I hope for both of you that this blooms into a lovely friendship.

[sibiryachka]

I hope to be able to make the same claim when I reach 80.

[MsEvans]

Wow, I would have loved to have seen that

[akuamoonmaui]

I agree with seeing if she'd be interested in joining! It might be a nice way for her to expand her social network if she's comfortable with computers and has access! If not, maybe you could show her these posts! I bet she'd really appreciate it!

Ladies, we will always appreciate compliments at any age! I remember when I met my wasband's grandmother for the first time. The woman did her makeup beautifully. It was a sense of pride for her and rightfully so.

[Petite Simone]

Sounds like a wonderful experience to me, both in the hair encounter and the sharing of your time with a remarkable sounding woman!

[banglaminerva]

Thank you so much for how you're spending time with the woman! I was a nursing home social worker and that kind of interactions makes a world of difference.

So, I guess, now, no one's too old for long hair unless they're older than 80.

[going gray]

Bet she really enjoyed the attention you gave her. You are a loving, caring woman!

[Jessica Trapp]

COOL! She is lucky to have you to care for her too.

:flower: jes