When Pat Gentile began to grow out her hair after chemotherapy, she was nervous to go to work for the first time without a wig. An unexpected encounter with a convenience store stranger changed that.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Time now for “My Unsung Hero,” our series from the team at the Hidden Brain podcast. “My Unsung Hero” tells the stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else. Today’s story comes from Pat Gentile. In her late 50s, Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer. During chemotherapy, she lost all of her hair, so she started wearing a wig.
PAT GENTILE: But that wig – and I only had one wig. That wig was itchy and it was annoying. And when I worked all day, I’d get a headache by the time I got home. So at some point, I decided when I sort of had a crew cut look that it was time to give the wig up. So on my way to work, the very first time I was going to wear no wig, it was really nerve-racking because I didn’t want to get the pity eyes that people give you when you’re sick. I wanted to just keep moving on my work and in my profession. I was a dean at a college. I was a spokesperson. I was in a lot of visibility. And so the professional look was important. And so I was really nervous the first day that I went to work without my wig.
And I had stopped prior to work at a convenience store. And I was in the aisles, and a woman came up to me, said, not everybody could wear a hairstyle like that. You look fabulous. And I was stunned but got thank you very much out. And then she just walked away.
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GENTILE: And when I got back out to the car, I sat there for a while, sort of, you know, embracing this wonderful, kind thing that this person had said to me. And it really made a turning point for me that made me feel seen, made me feel normal, and gave me the courage to get to work and just get started. So that’s what happened. And so I think about this woman a lot. I still see her in my mind’s eye. I only saw her for a few seconds, but she made such an impression on me that I’m kinder because of her. So I’m very grateful to her.
SUMMERS: Pat Gentile lives in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. She has had no evidence of cancer since 2011. You can find more stories of unsung heroes and learn how to submit your own at hiddenbrain.org.
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