COURTNEY'S ALOPECIA STORY
‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”
- Dalai Lama XIV.
Strength is defined in the dictionary: ‘the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; mental power, force; moral power, firmness, or courage.’ On the contrary, a disaster is defined ‘a calamitous event, especially one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship.’ Those directly impacted by a disaster are never more alone then during this time of crisis. Their pain and suffering is immense. As time goes on, their pain and suffering continues to build, declining off the cliff, into hopelessness and despair. They begin to question why
so much could happen to one person. They question how much loss could a person endure. They ask why did this happen to them. They feel completely alone. I’m here to tell you, YOUR NOT ALONE!
There are others with this difficult auto immune disease! Like myself, I’ve have had Alopecia Areata on and off now for about 12 years. I have been bald, again, for about 2 months. I remember the first time I had alopecia and went completely bald. I felt lost, uncomfortable in my own skin, and had no idea what to do or who I was supposed to talk to about my hair loss (or if anyone could even relate to what I was going through). My Alopecia Areata started in June 2006, where I lost about 5-6 patches of hair in the back of my head. By December 2006, I went bald from my ears down, my only hair I had was the top of my head. I made the decision to shave my head in hopes that my hair
would just suddenly grow back. I was wrong... Eventually, I went completely bald, not one hair on my little head! I saw numerous doctors, dermatologists, had plenty of tests performed, and even steroid injections in my scalp all in hopes of just simply “getting my hair back”. I hid my Alopecia from the world. I wore wigs, didn’t’ say anything to friends or strangers, and refused to go swimming or do anything that involved me having to take off my wig. I was embarrassed for something that was completely out of my control. Embarrassed to simply be me... bald Courtney. I
managed to battle through it, and after over 1 year of being bald, my hair finally came back in May 2007.
I’m still unsure as to why my hair just suddenly came back after over a year of being completely bald! Maybe it was stress induced, maybe it was medication, or maybe I just finally being content with my new “Bald” look. After 6 years of being alopecia free, July 2013, something triggered my alopecia, and it came back. This time, I lost my hair the opposite sections of hair that I did with my first experience with Alopecia. The second time around, I lost small round patches in my bang area, eventually resulting in losing my hair from my bang line all the way to the crown of my head. Despising the way I looked in the mirror, I decided to shave my head again. This time, though, I promised myself it would be different. Alopecia was NOT going to control my life the way it once did!
While I was shaving my head for the first time with my 2nd episode of Alopecia, I remembered something that had happened to me with my first experience being out in public, bald, with my alopecia. A few months before my hair came back during my first episode, I planned a trip to go to the lake with some friends (most knew of my alopecia, but we never discussed it). Before the lake, we stopped at Walmart. While pulling into the Walmart parking lot I realized, “CRAP! I don’t have my wig! I can’t go inside like this!” I had no choice; I had to go inside Walmart, for the
very first time in public, without my mask, without my cover up....without my wig! While inside Walmart, I accidentally bumped into a little girl. As I bumped into the little girl, her mother dramatically pulled her child away from me stating “No! Don’t touch her! She might be contagious!” Words can’t express how humiliated, insulted and disrespected I felt! Contagious? What the @#$%?? This woman truly had no clue what I might have, but she misinformed her child that ”I might be contagious”. Looking back on that experience, I’ve realized just how uninformed people really are Alopecia Areata!
With that being said, it’s one of my 2 personal missions I now have: 1. Alopecia Community
Awareness, and; 2. Provide Information, Support and love to those affected by Alopecia. Experience
teaches you lot, and so far I have learned not to leave those special experiences behind, as they
don’t come often. The second time has been so much easier for me just being upfront, honest and
being a part of the NAAF. It definitely made me realize that I'm not alone after all!
Alopecia affects everyone differently and might affect you differently each time. This is now my third time
having Alopecia, and I realized how many people still need support from others with this disease. This means all fellow Alopecian’s, are unique, and special in their own way. It’s just a matter of ignoring the stares (most of them are only staring at your beauty, not your faults), realizing you’re not alone (there are 6.5 million people in the US
affected by Alopecia), and embracing your new “Alopecia Bald” look. I know I will be faced with more challenges with this auto immune disease, but I also know that with faith and being content with my hair loss, I am able to overcome any obstacles that come my way. Whenever I find another bald patch, I always remind myself: “take one day at a time, things always get better”. Be happy with yourself, you’ve come a long way.
Let Alopecia Areata be your beautiful cure!