My Journey with Alopecia
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

By Analisa

My Journey with Alopecia

I remember when the doctor first said that I had Alopecia Areata.  I was confused and scared.  I wondered why I had never heard of it.  I was also afraid what people would think of me.  Since it wasn’t so bad yet and it was so early, I didn’t think I would lose any more hair and thought that was it.  Later on I lost more, so that my mom got something to cover up all the bald patches because I couldn’t hide it all by myself at this point.  So I couldn’t wear my hair down anymore.  I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.  Every morning I feared someone would find out.  I even stopped doing the things I loved like basketball, volleyball, boogie boarding, surfing and swimming.  I more than anything wanted my light brown on top and honey blond on the bottom from surfing, swimming, and sun.  So one day my parents brought me to the San Francisco Alopecia Areata support group.  Hearing everyone’s stories really inspired me and let me know that I was not alone.  The next morning I woke up I was having a hard time and I knew I was ready to tell my classmates.  So that afternoon my teacher, the school nurse, and my mom explained Alopecia to the class.  After that my teacher let the children talk to me and to each other.  During that ten minutes  all the girls in my class and some boys rushed over to me and gave me hugs.  All the girls in my class were in tears for me, and the people I thought would be least supportive and the meanest about it were the most supportive and kindest.  Now that I have told my classmates I feel more comfortable and relieved so I can go back to the things I love.