In this day of heightened social networking, it has become easier to stay in touch with people from your past. Reconnecting with high school friends is an almost daily occurrence and gives you a glimpse into what they’ve managed to accomplish since graduating. Most have gotten married, sometimes to each other, and they’ve already started expanding their families with babies.
Alopecia can happen to anyone – babies included.
I have a friend whom I wasn’t particularly close to growing up. She was always one of the quieter girls, a good student and flawlessly beautiful.
Her parents had a lot of money but she never gave off the impression that she felt entitled. I reconnected with this friend recently and began the acceptable ‘social stalking’ of her pictures.
She had gotten married, it looks like to her boyfriend of 8 years whom was older and already had a child. (I remember she did always date men much older than her when we were in school together).
I then saw that she had her own little baby recently. This little girl was beautiful! Most babies look generic for the first 6 months of their lives but her baby had bright blue eyes and a big smile.
Once I had reconnected with my friend, I began to see her daily occurrences. I saw her step-daughter’s gymnastics competitions, her little baby’s first steps and every little milestone in between.
The Baby Had Alopecia
I also saw her post the day she found out that her baby was diagnosed with alopecia. Alopecia is a chronic hair loss disease of the head and/or body. There is currently no known cure.
I was ignorant on the disease and slightly confused – I thought I had seen pictures of her baby with hair so how could she be saying her daughter has alopecia?
It turns out, this disease can develop at any point in life and without warning. Some people only lose hair in certain spots and other people lose all of their hair. In this case, her baby lost everything – eyelashes, eyebrows, etc. She still had those same beautiful, bright, blue eyes but naturally her Mother was upset.
My friend began a blog to inform others on the disease and also chronicle her daughter’s life while dealing with it. It was here that I learned more about my friend than I had ever known.
She opened up about her deepest fears for her child – acceptance, love, beauty. She felt that it was her fault that her daughter had been dealt this hand in life. She felt that her focus on beauty and outward appearance throughout her life, had caused the Universe to bring her this challenge.
She was sad because strangers on the street would refer to her baby as a little boy – despite the fact that she dressed her up in ribbons and dresses. She wanted everyone to become aware and more sensitive to this rare disease to prevent future bullying and hurt feelings in children’s lives.
She constantly reiterates the fact that ‘bald is beautiful’ – and it is! I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to learn about this disease and hope others expand their knowledge on the subject as well.
Whether you have a lot of hair or none at all, it doesn’t change the color of your eyes, how big your heart is, or how talented you are at a sport.
Click here for health and beauty products, tips and advice that will help you put your best foot forward.
