Doug's Got a Silly Hat

Last winter, Phil let Doug know that at his most recent physical his doctor had recommended that he start wearing a hat whenever he was in the sun due to their family history of skin cancer.  He and Doug spent some time talking about different hats that they liked before moving on to another topic.  As soon as they hung up, I asked Doug what he thought about going to see a dermatologist.  Doug's family history, his fair skin and the multitude of freckles on his back had always made me a little worried about melanoma.  After thinking about it for a little while, he decided that it made sense, especially since we would be moving to Florida soon and would be spending even more time in the sun.  

My mom recommended her dermatologist and I called right away.  I was very worried about getting him an appointment as they were already scheduling into June when I called.  Thankfully, the date worked well for him and today he arrived early for his 10 a.m. appointment.  After all of the doctor's that he had visited recently, he was thrilled that there was very little waiting time and that he was out in less than an hour.  She had found one area that she wanted to watch and prescribed a cream for pre-cancerous spots on his forehead.  Just like Phil's doctor, she also recommended sunscreen and a hat.

Tonight Doug and I talked about all of the different types of hats that he would be interested in wearing.  He already had a camo bucket hat from college that he could wear while doing yard work, but the Carl Spackler look wouldn't work when we went out together.  Baseball caps were out as they didn't really cover a lot and I didn't like the look of them.  He also wasn't interested in the Steve Spurrier visor like Phil.  I suggested a wide-brimmed straw hat, but Doug wasn't interested in that either.  He finally suggested an Australian "bushmen" hat.  I looked that up on line and agreed that it was the perfect type of hat for him.  We plan on looking for one in Florida when we go at the end of the month.  Doug will then be able to sing the Silly Hat song from Blues Clues and fit right in with the song.