Amber

Female

Sioux City, Iowa

United States

Profile Information:

Relationship Status:

Married

About Me:

I am a Follower of Jesus who has had alopecia since i was 12. It started on the back of my neck and my hairline in the front receded. Then I noticed spots on my legs and arms. Within a year all my facial hair was gone starting with the right side of my face and then the left side. I was continually mocked at school and my hair loss was the object of everybody's fun growing up.

For 4 years i had medication shots injected into my face and scalp and i hated it. I was passed from one doctor to another and nobody knew what was causing my hair loss. When i was 16 I had enough of the injections and of doctors and decided that i didn't want to go anymore.

It took another five years for all of the rest of my hair to fall out. It rapidly fell out when i got to college. I went from having 60% head hair to 0% in a year. There was hair everywhere. I was shedding like a dog. I hid in a hat and beanies for the majority of my college life until it no longer hid the fact that i was loosing my hair. I would get in trouble at work for not wearing my hair up and in trouble in class for wearing a hat. Not knowing what else to do i finally broke down and bought a wig. It was so emotional for me. I hid away in my room for months only coming out for class. Three weeks after i bought my first wig the rest of my hair fell out. I felt very alone and like nobody understood what i was going through.

People would ask me all the time if I had cancer, I hated meeting new people because they would just stare at me and then the dreaded question "Can I ask you a question?" haha. i would tell them i had alopecia and then have to explain what it was. I was in nursing school and when we went over autoimmune disorders my teacher pulled me to the side and asked me if I would stand up and talk about my alopecia to the class. Um....no. I most definitely will not. I had never been more embarrassed in my life.

My boss once told me that the way i did my makeup made me look Egyptian. I thought that was hilarious since I'm as white as Casper. Having Alopecia has definitely not been easy. Its been harder since I have never had a support system and have always had to deal with my alopecia alone. I honestly thought i was the only one who had alopecia because i had never met another person with it or even knew what it was. I have come a long ways in the last 3 years. I can actually talk about it now. I am no where near the point of being seen without a wig on. I still have trouble looking at myself in mirror and seeing a bald woman looking back at me. For years i clung on to God and asked why he chose to make me this way and to take it from me. I have now accepted the fact that my hair will never grow back. My prayer now is that God will be glorified through it. I am much stronger now that I have ever been.

My first wig I wore until it literally was falling to pieces. It was a fitted wig that i had to use double sided tape and stick it to my head. It was the worst thing ever. I hated it. lol. I laugh about it now. What was i thinking?

I married Richard in October of 2010. I am now a bald-head, wig-wearing preacher's wife. I couldn't be happier. My biggest fear is having kids with alopecia. I can cope with it and it has made me stronger but i desperately pray for my kids to be spared.

Do you have alopecia?

Alopecia universalis

Are you age 18 or older?

Yes - I am 18 or older

Your Website (Leave blank if you don't have one):

http://accrowson.blogspot.com

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