Maplewood barber survives transplant surgeries, COVID-19 and business closures

Maplewood barber Robert Nabors knows a thing or two about making a comeback.

"I made it. I survived and I’ve been through worse," he said.

Over the years, he’s had two kidney transplant surgeries at Hennepin County Medical Center and, most recently, he just recovered from COVID-19.

He’s had to close his business, Nabors Cut, LLC, twice due to the pandemic.

"It was rough because there was no income and we had just come off a three-month closure," he said.

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Nabors takes anti-rejection medication daily and gets his labs checked on a regular basis.

But transplant patients can be vulnerable and his doctors at Hennepin Healthcare closely monitored his case to make sure the virus didn’t injure his kidneys. They wanted him to get back to his barber chair as badly as he did.

"There is really close and consistent follow-up with our transplant patients," Dr. Paul Stahler, with Hennepin Healthcare, said.

Tuesday was Nabors’ first day back at work after having to close shop for 21 days. He had back-to-back clients, which he says might be the most potent form of medicine there is.

"When people look in the mirror and they like it or love it … that’s why I cut hair, and why I wanted to get back. It just feels good to make people feel good," he said.