My Story about HRBR
I have never been concerned about my age. When I hit 30, 40, 50 it did not matter a single thought to me as I was enjoying life more than I ever was. Ten years ago, I found myself married to a woman who was 25 years younger than me but age was never an issue between us. However, she looked young for her age and my hairline was beginning to thin and recede rapidly. From family history, I knew that within 5/10 years I would be completely bald on top. I knew that this would quickly age me from a visual aspect. It is one thing standing beside a woman who obviously looks young enough to be my daughter but young enough to be my granddaughter would be carrying the cliché way too far!! This did not concern my wife but it concerned me greatly because I did not want people being prejudiced in respect of my wife’s motives for being with me. The second concern that I had was about the small children that we had in school. I knew that I was always going to look old compared to the other Dads but I hoped that I might be able to look ‘mature’ a la George Clooney or Pierce Brosnan rather than just ‘old’.
I have no illusions about looking like George Clooney but there is a general perception that there are attractive young women who genuinely prefer the company of experienced, active, mature men. However, if the same woman is seen with a balding, overweight, sad old git, she can be judged very badly. I felt that I owed it to my wife and children to do my best to rejuvenate myself
It was not just my vanishing hair that I needed to rectify, I also needed a better diet and more exercise. I think that you have to consider the entire ‘package’ but I always considered my hair to have the most significant visual impact on my perceived age. In respect of hair loss, I was very cautious by nature especially about anything that is a totally unknown subject for me. Over the course of a year, I spent hundreds of hours researching the subject. It quickly became clear to me that the various medicinal options were too long term and slow acting to have much effect on my condition. The only effective way for me to turn around my continuing hair loss was to have a transplant. I do not remember the various options but I could see that the removal of donor hair from the back of my head and replanting it in my thinning hairline looked to be the best option for me, so I researched this further.
I had assumed that I would have to go to the United States to get the best, most professional and reliable job done. However, surprisingly, the name of Maurice Collins, a surgeon in the Blackrock Clinic, only a few miles from me began to be prominent in the more academic medical literature that I was researching on the internet. I am a cynic by nature and the fact that this guy from Blackrock had an international reputation seemed a little dubious.
What I do in this situation is research the internet for anything bad being said about someone or any complaints about shoddy work. This is a very worthwhile exercise for any of you who are naturally concerned about making the right choice as there was a second name of a surgeon working in Ireland that did not stand up to this scrutiny as well as Maurice did. Part of the reason that I like to do so much reading of the technical literature on the internet is that it is usually possible, even for a total novice to garner enough knowledge about a subject to be able to sense a ‘spoofer’.
What can I say; I went to Maurice Collins, I was impressed with his knowledge and candour, I went through with the procedure and was very happy with the results. I can honestly say that I consider this procedure to be the best investment that I have ever made. It could not have worked out better.
You might be interested to know why I am writing this story as it is not because Maurice did a good job on my hair; you would expect this from a true professional. A few years ago, I had a very minor medical procedure carried out, nothing to do with my hair. I was called back to the consultant concerned every three months for a consultation. Basically, the consultation would last a few minutes and would boil down to ‘how do you feel?’. I would say ‘I feel fine’ and the consultant would say ‘great, I will see you again in three months’. On the way out, the receptionist would make a new appointment and relieve me of €125. It did not take me long to realise that what the consultant really meant to say was ‘I will see another €125 in three months’.
In all of the after operation consultations, help and prescriptions that Maurice has given me over the years, he has never once allowed me to put my hand in my pocket. This really means a lot to me especially because, as far as I am aware, we have no friends or realtions, no club or anything else in common. I am just a regular client to him. It is because of this that I have felt the need to write this story. I think that it is as important to speak out about good service as it is to complain about bad service.
If you want to ask me about any aspect of my experience, please feel free to contact HRBR who will put you in contact with me, otherwise I strongly recommend that you spend some time researching the internet as I did.
I wish you the very best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
Sincerely Bryan
