Black Surgeon Braids His Patient's Hair During Surgery To Keep Clear Of Her Incisions

Oct 05, 2021 by apost team

Going into surgery can be a very scary experience, and waking up afterward is often the start of many other challenges. This is why kind gestures in these moments really go a long way in helping bring peace to the surgical patients. One woman shared her story on social media after her surgeon went out of his way to braid her hair back during her surgery so he wouldn't have to cut it, and it was still out of the way of the incisions. 

India Marshall, from North Carolina, had surgery to remove bone growths from her forehead in 2020. Marshall is a Black woman, and when she woke up after surgery, she noticed that her hair had more braids than she went into surgery with. At first, Marshall assumed it was one of the Black nurses who had been helping her pre-surgery who took the care to braid her hair, but she later found out it was her surgeon, Dr. Jewel Greywoode.

Dr. Greywoode asked Marshall if he did a good job on the braids during a follow-up appointment and she was shocked. The surgeon shared that he helps braid his daughters' hair at home. Dr. Greywoode knew that it would be important to Marshall that her hair not be shaved for the surgery, so he used staples instead of stitches and braided her hair away from the incisions as well. 

This generous attention to detail meant a lot to Marshall, and she said that this type of care is why we need more Black doctors treating Black patients. She shared her story on social media, where it went viral, and brought attention to this important issue. Keep reading to learn more about this touching story.

As soon as Marshall saw herself after surgery, she noticed that someone had braided her hair. She told Today, "I thought it was nice that I had the braids in a way where we could easily get to the incisions and my hair was out of the way, which was very nice because I felt really sick after surgery and in pain."

Little did she know that the kind gesture was actually from her surgeon. "When he came in the room, he was talking to me and he started taking out my staples and he mentioned, 'I hope I didn't do too bad on your braids,'" Marshall said. "And I was like, 'Wait, what? You did that?'"

The story of how Dr. Greywoode cares for his daughters also touched Marshall's heart. "It was a kind of emotional moment ... I am one of four girls in my family. So just thinking of especially a father, but a Black father, doing his daughters' hair ... some people know natural hair is a lot to deal with, so him being very involved in doing his hair and taking the time to do that for me before surgery was huge," she explained.

This experience has highlighted a need for more personalized treatment in the healthcare industry. "I know that I could only have gotten that type of care and experience with a Black doctor because he understood my hair," Marshall said. "He also brought up that he didn't use sutures or stitches because he didn't want to cut my hair when removing it. The staples are easier to take out. So that was just another example of how he was able to understand me as a Black woman and the importance of my hair and preserving it."

apost.com

What do you think of this story? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.