In our patient's own words: 

                           
                                               Before                                                           After

 
The signs of my future loss started appearing in my teens. On one particular occasion, someone - not known for her discretion - pointed out that I had a bald spot in the back of my head. As I had never thought of looking back there, I had not known this. Naturally, I checked it out myself by placing a mirror in back of my head while looking into a mirror in front of me. Unfortunately, she was right. I couldn't say at what age I progressed to being a totally bald fellow - a so-called Norwood 7 - but I'd guess it was in my late 20's. At various times, I would complain to my mom about my affliction (bringing up the fact that my older brother had a full head of hair). She would always say, that I had plenty of company. 

Was I devastated about being bald? No. Devastation should be reserved for tragedies such as losing a limb, going blind, or losing a loved one... not for a genetic condition afflicting thousands of men. But on a scale of 1-10, with 10 representing total devastation, I'd say I was a strong 7.5. Through the years, I had heard that there was such a thing called "hair transplantation," but never gave it much thought. I assumed it was just something available to rich people. I had resigned myself to my fate, and I told myself that I'd just try to be as fit as I could, to strive to become proficient at things that were important to me, and to view my baldness as just one characteristic that made me who I am.

Dr. Beehner was one of the doctors who came up when I googled "hair transplantation." I e-mailed him some photos, and wrote that if I wasn't a candidate, to please let me know, as I lived very far from his Saratoga Springs office. He wrote back to say that I was certainly a candidate for a frontal-midscalp type of plan, which does very well, even on a Norwood 7 patient. "I would encourage you to come in and see what is possible to do with someone with your degree of hair loss," he wrote.

So I made the trip to Saratoga, and found Dr. Beehner to be a friendly, kind, and pleasant man who had received consistently excellent reviews by many of his patients. He saw me for about an hour and twenty minutes, and patiently answered all the questions I had prepared in advance. At no time was there ever any pressure to book a session. Even though I had not yet commenced the extensive "homework" in the field that I was yet to do, I e-mailed him when I got home to say that I had decided to put myself in his hands, and go through with the procedure. Another thing I liked about him was that he answered all my e-mails. I am, by nature, obsessive-compulsive, and when something is important to me, I want to know everything about it. So in addition to my transplants, I received the added benefit of free instruction in the field.

One of the hardest things about the whole process is the waiting. No two people will grow at an identical rate, and although it is said that growth usually commences after three or four months, people have been known to have started to grow earlier, as well as later. For late growers, panic sometimes sets in. We become obsessed with the mirror. I myself, have come under the spell of the rear-view mirror in the car while driving. We know that our hair isn't going to be any longer five minutes later, but we check it out again, anyway. I learned, through The Hair Transplantation Network, that I wasn't the only one who succumbed to this.  

The decision on whether or not to go through with hair transplantation surgery is a personal one. Getting a transplant is not a panacea. You have to have a whole lot more going for you than just hair in order to become a successful and fulfilled person. But if it is something that can bring us closer to the image we have of ourselves, then it can be a wonderful thing. Although it can't get you a girlfriend, a wife, or a better job, the confidence it can give someone by looking better, can lead to a person feeling better about

himself, and can lay the groundwork for girlfriends, wives, better jobs, and the incentive to lose weight or stop smoking...because of the new aura we are now projecting. It's kind of like the saying, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."  Although I understand, especially as a Norwood 7 patient, that I can never have the head of hair I did when I was sixteen, and that much of our perceived density is illusion, I'm glad I took this journey.

My mother is one of my biggest critics. She would have been furious had she known I was spending money to have hair transplants. But she now says I look at least ten years younger, and that I look great. Coming from her, that's a compliment! If we can spend money for a good car, what's wrong with making an investment - for about the same amount of money - in ourselves?