Hi everyone, its me Merari who has Alopecia, typing this blog post right now after years and years of this page being inactive...
As you see the past posts, my aunt Jennifer was the main person active on here. She found my first coin sized ball spot on my head one day doing my hair. She created this page for me to get help, and more information about this disease. My mom has also been a part of this page, posting once in while. 
First of all, I didn't even know this page EXISTED. My aunt brought it up in the car earlier this week for the first time ever. I was in shock for the most part and asked if I could see it cause I really didn't believe it. She gave me her phone to see and I notice that all these posts are in 2008!! When I was barley diagnosed. Seeing all the pictures of "my first wig", comments of people around different places that supported me. Reading all of it really made me feel good. After a little while she told me that I need to update it asap, she gave me the login to it and really wanted me to take it over now. Honestly I was denial about it because I really didn't think no one was on here anymore, and all the friends that were commenting probably aren't active and no one would look at my page. But after days of being on here, and observing. I noticed otherwise, I am very nervous about this but I'm giving it a try. 

I am now 15 years old and going to be a junior in high school this coming August. My family and I now live in Texas we moved the summer of 2011 from Michigan, my parents are pastors here and that is the reason why we moved. After pastoring in Michigan for 11 years, God was calling them here and that's where we are now. 

In November of 2012, we went to a church convention In North Carolina. That entire week I looked and was very very sick. I constantly needed to use the bathroom and drink water. I wasn’t hungry a lot of the time and I lost a lot of weight. Sometimes I would feel like I needed to faint. My eyes were black cause of how sick I was. On our way back home almost the whole trip it was constantly drinking water and using the bathroom. I would cry cause of how much I couldn’t hold it any longer. When we came back home at about 2 in the morning and my mom took me straight to the ER cause what’s was going on wasn’t normal. They immediately checked my blood sugar and it was over 300. I was put in a hospital bed and they put me through an IV. Took tests of my blood, and shortly after the doctor came in and I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Where my pancreas is completely destroyed and doesn't produce any insulin and now I inject insulin to myself multiple times a day/when I eat. I was about 9 and a half years old and didn’t really understand. But this was something very devastating for my mom. Later I was put into an ambulance and admitted to a hospital called Cooks Children so I could be taken care of, I was hospitalized for 3 days. 

Along with Alopecia, these autoimmune disorders have affected me in a big big way. Its something very inexpiable, It’s affected my emotions in an incredible way. That only God knows, and knows why he permits these things. Although I consider myself very strong through all of this. I have always been and will continue to be the positive person I am. But I believe in miracles, He makes the impossible possible. And He is doing the work in me...

John 11:4

“When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” 

I would want to talk  more depth into my alopecia, how its affected me, and my story. 
And I will definitely update with recent pictures.

Thank you so much for reading this, 
Merari Reyes <3