So Donna, tell me a little bit about yourself.
How old are you, what do you do?
Okay, I just turned 52 in January.
Yay!
(Donna laughs)
Let's hear for 52, me too.
Oh, you too? Yeah.
That's great, yes.
I am an operating room nurse.
Oh, wow.
So I've been that since 1996.
I was a nurse since 1991.
And you're married?
Yes, I'm married to Joe.
We have two beautiful boys, they're 12 and 14.
Tell me a little bit
about what your menopause journey has looked like.
So, I've been in menopause,
actively in menopause for five years,
I was 47 or 48.
I think the first thing you notice is the night sweats.
You would wake up in the middle of the night,
so you lose some sleep, tired all the time
and then the weight gain.
I just feel like no matter what I do,
I just keep blowing up.
And how has that affected you emotionally?
Like in terms of confidence and...
Like just even talking to you about it, I start to well up
because it's massive loss of confidence.
You don't wanna go out anywhere,
you don't wanna go shopping for clothes.
You don't want someone to invite you somewhere
because I'd rather stay in my stretch pants, you know?
Okay Donna, first let me start by saying
how much I empathize
with everything that you are experiencing.
What you are going through is not uncommon
for women who are going through menopause
and I have experienced the same things myself.
When you think of the thing that's been most hard for you
when it comes to menopause, what has it been?
Not feeling beautiful and not, oh gosh,
not worthy of my husband even wanting to be with me,
which is ridiculous.
He's wonderful, he would.
But it it's in my head that I don't feel beautiful
so I don't wanna have, I don't wanna go out.
I don't wanna have sex,
I don't wanna do any of it.
I'm tearing up because I completely understand.
And I feel like, I don't know if it's a comfort to you
but there are so many people who go through this
and don't know how to handle it.
And there are a couple of things that we need to do,
we need to kind of get you to understand
obviously this is not in your control.
This has everything to do with your hormones
and everything to do with how we're gonna manage that.
But what I really am concerned about
is what it is doing to you emotionally and psychologically
because the idea that you don't feel worthy
to me it's heart wrenching.
That's ridiculous to me in my head.
Okay, no better but I can't help,
that's the way I feel.
I will not sugarcoat this for you.
Menopause is hard but it isn't hopeless
and you aren't helpless and we are gonna prove that today.
I realize you're a nurse
which means you're in scrubs a lot, I'm sorry.
(Donna laughs)
But what was your style like before?
What was your style like when you felt more confident?
I liked wearing a flowy dress
or if you're going out to a fancy place
like a sleeveless dress with a low cut kind of thing.
Ooh!
Not real low cut, but you know, just enough.
What about your hair?
Did you always have it this long?
I have always loved my long hair.
When I've cut it short,
I definitely don't like myself.
It's starting to go gray right in here.
And I never colored my hair before
until probably the last year or two.
I would know because I love my gray hair.
So you tell me. You look very good.
Oh, well thank you.
What I wanna do, what I want us to do
is to figure out a way for you to feel better in your skin,
to feel better about who you are
because you got a long runway in front of you babe
and we want it to be a good one.
Awesome, I'm so excited.
Okay, so here's the before.
Beautiful lady.
And we owe her our love and gratitude for being a nurse,
a frontline worker and a surgical nurse.
So are we ready?
Everybody ready?
I'm ready if you're ready.
(audience applauds)
All right, let's do it.
Come on out Donna.
(upbeat music)
Oh, so (indistinct)
(audience applauds)
So, you know you look cute
even though you haven't seen yourself, right?
Like you can look down.
Yes, I can see the side too.
And you can see a little bit on the sides.
You wanna take a Gander.
Sure would.
Turn around, take a look at yourself.
(audience applauds)
Look at your hair.
Your hair is gorgeous.
Oscar Blandi Salon did that?
That is correct.
Yes.
And I think it was Gretchen and Connor.
Gretchen and Connor both,
I wanna thank them so much
because they took such beautiful hair already,
but look at how she looks.
Your eyes,
your makeup is popping your eyes.
You guys have all done amazing job,
it made me feel beautiful.
You look in beautiful.
(audience applauds)