FROM HULL TO ST PAUL S MINNEAPOLIS
Thursday 22 October 2009 and I was boarding a plane at 9.50am from Hull Airport leaving for Amsterdam where I would transfer over to my main flight straight into Saint Pauls International Airport Minneapolis.
I booked my flights through the KLM website using their E-Ticket service along with travel insurance and also sorted out my travel visa on line all of this was straight forward and simple to do. After having a long chat with my other half we decided a week would be best so Janna kindly booked me into the Country Inn and Suites Hotel, Bloomington Minneapolis for 6 nights.
Everything went like clockwork-I had downloaded my boarding passes and pre booked my seat next to a window on line 48 hours before-so there was no hold ups at all. I was really excited about the journey itself and also taking a positive step to sorting out my Barnet once and for all! Lol
Before I knew it after picking up a couple of books and magazines for the 6 hour flight I was on board flight KL6045 on my way to the USA! I ended up not reading any of the books or mag s I purchased as I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy called Geoff and we hit it off straight away. Geoff was a former Navy Seal and a keep fit nut like me so we found we had allot in common, Geoff was very proud to be a MINNEAPOLAN! Lol and filled me in on its history with the native Indians and the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Pauls as we swapped stories, laughed and chatted the hours rolled by. I spent the last couple watching the new Star Trek movie after Geoff tipped me off and gave it the nod as he had watched it on the outbound flight into the UK. The film was indeed top notch and before I knew it I was shaking hands with Geoff as we wished each other well, then taking myself through the non USA check in desk, where a very amiable and polite old lady greeted me with a 100 watt smile and asked the purpose of my visit. I whipped my hat off and said I was here to have some new hair sent on permanent vacation from the sides and back of my head to the top, with the world s best HT surgeon.
You came all the way from England to here for this! she exclaimed, don t they have anybody over there that can do this? Giggling at my impromptu performance which we both found amusing, Ahhh I replied and that s where the problem is you see, the answer to that question is no we don t, so you see how lucky you are to have such a man in your midst ! I replied. Still laughing.
Well, indeed we are honoured she said what is this surgeon s name?
Dr Ron Shapiro I informed her as we still beamed at each other well good for you and him! she laughed then put out her hand which I shook vigorously as she wished my luck, while telling me I had to visit there famous Mall before I came home.
So Geoff and the first lady I greeted off the plane had painted a very positive picture already to me regarding the good people of Minneapolis, It was to stay that way for the whole of my journey.
After picking up my luggage it was a case of texting home to let everyone know I d arrived ok, then ringing the Hotel who kindly despatched a shuttle bus to come and pick me up, it doesn t get much better or smoother than that now does it?!.
In no time at all the Mini-Bus arrived emblazoned with the Bloomington Country Inn and Suites logo, so I knew this was my ride. I hopped in the front after the driver had kindly taken and loaded my single case and after a short ride and a nice chat of around 20 minutes we were swinging in outside the Bloomington Country Inn.
After a brief and easy check in I had my key and before I knew it was opening the door to my room and temporary home for the next week. The room was large and comfortable with a queen sized bed that looked very inviting after a long journey-however I declined the urge and thought I would take a walk and find the Shapiro Headquarters as I knew they were in walking distance. When it gets cold in Minneapolis which is right next to the Canadian border I guess it gets really cold and although I was only walking for 10 minutes my nose was looking very Rudolph-ish by the time I arrived outside the 3 storey building of which Shapiro Medical Group occupied most of the top floor!
A short lift journey followed to the top floor and then I was walking into the reception of my journeys goal and greeted with a warm smile by Jenny the receptionist. I explained I had just popped in to say hello and she suggested meeting Matt, so in no time at all I was shaking hands with him and arranging to come back the next day so we could take some before photos and also have a chat with Sir Ron to get a feel for what we wanted to achieve etc-Matt and Jenny were both warm-outgoing and friendly, a theme I was soon to realise ran throughout all of the SMG staff.
Next day I back at 12pm and having pre op photos done, the nervous excitement and anticipation was really starting to build now and Matt was very reassuring on where my hair loss was at and what to expect etc. Then the big man walked in and I found myself shaking hands with him for the 2nd time after our first meeting many months before in London.
We sat down and talked about our plan of attack and what I was hoping for Dr Ron also explained that until he made his first incision he would not know what we were able to harvest. However he was sure that the worst case scenario would be 2000 grafts and the best 2500 maybe more-however the goal would be to get the maximum amount of grafts possible in this session. The plan of attack would be to target the frontal 3rd and as he explained what he wanted to do, out came the crayon and he proceeded to use my head as a make shift easel and pencil in the grafts and placements, right down to saving the individual hairs for last and pencilling them in on the front. Then just like at the barbers the mirror came out and I was well happy with his vision of what he thought would be the best approach for my hairline. I have never had a doubt since meeting this amazing hair artist, for that is what Sir Ron is, he creates the very best results obtainable with the grafts he has to work with, also taking into account hair thickness-type and current and future possible hair loss. I explained also that I had an ample supply of lush body hair we could use also!
let s see how far we can get with your head hair first Was the expert advice. we will go to body hair as a last resort if we need to, but we will not be happy till your happy .
At that point the lovely Janna walked in with her 1000 watt smile warm and bright enough to light up any room Hi Mark! she exclaimed, Hi Janna I replied feeling like I was greeting an old friend for the first time in a long time, such is the warmth that emanates from her and the genuine care and kindness that come through, you can t help but feel totally comfortable and relaxed when she is around.
I walked out after Janna had done her best to remove my makeshift hairline with a wet wipe, feeling totally relaxed in the knowledge that I was coming back the next morning to meet the rest of team Shapiro and I was truly laying myself in the hands of the very best team in the HR business. I never stopped smiling through the bitter wind all the way back to the Inn and the warmth of my room. I went to sleep that night dreaming of needing a comb again! Lol, never once did I doubt what I was doing though, not before during or for one second since.
The next morning after a good night s kip and a plateful of the Inns breakfast burgers followed by a couple of complimentary cookies (very moor-ish!) I was walking in to reception. Before I knew it I was slipping a gown on and being introduced to the team then lying face down on a very comfortable recliner with a slot for your head whilst receiving a wonderfully relaxing massage from one of the team, whilst Vikki another of Team Shapiro administered some numbing injections to the back of my head to the area my strip would be coming from. The whole sensation was one of pleasure not pain, I never felt a thing and Vikki (my American Sister as I called her as she shares the same name as my real Sister) was superb as we quipped and laughed through the procedure she was always asking me to let her know if I felt any discomfort at all.
I was incredibly surprised at how quick this part of the procedure was , Vikki had finished up The Doc came in let me know what was happening- we had a laugh and a bit of a chat and then I was all stitched up rolling over and both strips were off and being harvested , totally painless The very funny Dal came back for a quick chat to let me know that my hair colour was great for harvesting as the hairs were darker and easier to see and everything was looking really good.
I was asked what I would like to eat when I arrived and at this point I was brought the chicken burger I had ordered and asked if there was a movie I would like to watch through part 2.There was a huge choice and I opted for Iron Man as I had not seen it, I was given a couple of valium tablets to help relax me and as I hardly ever touch drugs of any kind not even for the occasional headache, I can only recall the starting credits from the film and then I was away in La La land! Lol, so I still never got to watch it.
I guess I pretty much slept and dribbled my way through the whole procedure to my embarrassment, I do remember being told off though for moving my head when I must have come to at some point but by whom I have no idea! Again painless and I have a good recollection of Janna telling me that Sir Ron was finishing off another patient then would be back to insert the last few singles left along my newly formed hairline. Sure enough a few minutes later after a cold Diet Coke the main man arrived and finished the whole painless process off. We had a chat about his lack of holidays and his love of the great outdoors and back packing, at which point he promised himself he would make an effort to do more of , then it was all over and he was asking me if I wanted to take a look!
So there I was looking in a mirror at a newly constructed hairline which only a few short hours before didn t exist. I was over the moon with what I saw like a kid at Xmas exited and totally blown away.
I was given a small bag with some painkillers in and some craftcyte spray which I had to apply every hour to keep the grafts and extraction scar clean and help speed up the process of healing. I was offered a lift back but declined and insisted on walking back the half mile or so to the Inn after thanking everyone for their excellent care and the fact that they made me feel so welcome. I don t think I stopped grinning all the way back to the Inn into the lift and back to my room at the Inn, the picture near the start of this thread is the one I took when I got there........awesome and for me one of life s true wonderments as I look back now and see what this great surgeon was able to achieve with so little really.
I went back for a haircut and some after pictures the next morning and insisted on getting the whole team together to say thank you and take a picture for myself and all you HLE forumites! The journey home mirrored the journey out only in reverse and I don t think I used a single pain killer after the operation-the most pain I felt after on a score of 1-10 would have been a 3-4 tops!
Other highlights for me was being driven round the city and shown the sites by the wonderful Janna and then taken for a lovely meal courtesy of SMG, who were worried that with a week to play with I might go stir crazy if I elected to just stay in my room, such is there genuine level of care that stretches well beyond just the procedure itself-truly wonderful people all of them in EVERY sense.....AWESOME!
You must also if you have time like I did take in the biggest shopping Mall in the world, the Inn will shuttle you there and pick you up FOC and it took me the week to get round all of the place! To say its huge is an understatement it even has a full blown indoor theme park complete with a full size Rollercoaster bigger than the Corkscrew at Alton Towers, are you getting the picture!?
So there you go part 2 will be happening again in October, the only thing I will change from the first trip is the stay over which I will shorten to 2-3 days or as short as is possible really whatever that may be. I thought I would need the recovery time but this is simply not the case.
I think I am or will be even more excited about the 2nd procedure where Again I will want to focus on the frontal 3rd or half-thickening and widening the front if possible but as always will be very receptive and open to the great man s suggestions on what to do and where to go for our second pass.
I would like to say hand on heart that for me there is no other surgeon and if you are thinking about taking the step up to hair surgery then you MUST consider and add this excellent and in my opinion unrivalled hair restoration artist at the very top of your very short list. I have no problem in meeting showing and talking to ANYONE who would want reassuring or to see his work close up in the flesh and talk to someone who has been there after a poor start in the UK.
So thanks Sir Ron, for already giving me the confidence to not reach for a cap every time I walk out the door my vast collection of baseball caps is sat there gathering dust, I just don t think about it in the same way anymore.....can you truly put a price on that? To Janna, Matt, Vikki, Del and the rest of the A-team I salute you all and very much look forward to seeing you all again soon, it will be 2 years when we do, can you believe that!?
Again thanks to all of you, you are truly the best of the best !
Masher xxxxxxx
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