Angelina was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata when she was 23 months old. After her bath one evening I noticed a tennis ball sized bald spot above her right ear. I immediately called the Dr. and they tried to schedule an appointment a few days out because it wasn't urgent. I'm sure you would understand that to me that wasn't okay. I kept trying and luckily was able to get her in the next morning.
The Dr. quickly looked at her and gave me two diagnoses. One he quickly mentioned was Alopecia but he didn't think that was it so he barely talked about it. The other was another child at her daycare must have pulled her hair out. I found that hard to believe because it was a perfectly round spot, all the hair was missing & there was no irritation. Not to mention I would have immediately noticed when I picked her up.
So not knowing what was wrong with my daughter and being scared out of my mind I took her to a Dermatologist. She diagnosed it as Alopecia Areata and gave me what little information there was on it.
For those of you who may not know what Alopecia Areata is it is a "common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. It usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis).
Alopecia areata affects approximately two percent of the population overall, including more than 4.7 million people in the United States alone. This common skin disease is highly unpredictable and cyclical. Hair can grow back in or fall out again at any time, and the disease course is different for each person.
There is no cure and there is very little understanding of it. After Angelina was first diagnosed after a couple of months all of her hair and one eyebrow was gone. A couple of years ago I did some research and found this product that after several months she started to grow hair. It was amazing! Almost a year later she had only a few small spots and you couldn't see them because she had hair.
She now has long hair, it grows really fast, we can finally do hair styles. Which amazes me because before it all happened it was barely long enough to do tiny ponytails at the top of her head. Sadly a few months ago a spot showed up on the top of her head. The hair loss has been increasing ever since. When she wanted to we could cover it up with a ponytail. But now it has gotten too big and Angelina has expressed that she would like a wig.
Thank you for reading Angelina's story.
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Fund Manager Profile
My name is Roxann and in July of 2001 I had my first child, a baby girl I named Angelina. My daughter and I have been on a roller coaster of emotions since she was diagnosed, well mainly I have. Angelina who is now 8 is now only just realizing what she has and is truly understanding as much of it as she can. Though it has been hard I have always tried to stay strong for her. I try to teach her confidence and to believe in her self. As mean as this world can be sometimes I truly hope and pray that she grows into a beautiful young lady and has a world of happiness in her hands.
This is all so new to us. It's scary! But I know one way or another we will get through this. My Husband and I have a combined family of 5 kids. Any help you can contribute we would be extremely thankful for.
Thank you!
Roxann
"Angelina, as those who know her know, is an amazingly generous, bright, wonderful girl! She handles her hair loss and gain as matter of factly as a young girl could. I think we can all tell how it would feel, however, to notice your hair falling out bit by bit. I have witnessed people's uneducated comments, and how well Ang handles them. Ang currently has more hair loss than can be seen in the pictures. Let's give her all the support we can! We love you Angelina! " Written from a dear friend. Thank you!
Encouraging Words
:-) Anonymous - Mar 23, 2010
We love you, you beautiful thing! Peggy C - Mar 22, 2010
Anonymous - Mar 23, 2010