I was very surprised to see that people noticed I haven’t been on here in like a week. My grandmother owned a cottage (and four more she rented out as a small business) on the river up here and so every three weeks my family gets to stay (the other two weeks my dad’s two brothers get to keep it fair). It was nice to enjoy the nice weather we’ve had. And then on Thursday I turned 21 and somehow (I don’t know how) survived the night with my friends.

So where to start on all that’s happened to me since I last posted something… I layed in bed one night a couple weeks ago and thought about this whole situation I’m in with this disease. For the first few months I didn’t think much. I lost my facial hair, so what? I can shave everyday to make sure it’s not noticeable. I had one spot on the side of my head not a big deal I can just grow my hair a little longer and cover it up. But it was my parents, mainly my mother that freaked. She scheduled me an appointment at the doctors, made sure I asked for a referral to a dermatologist and a few months later and after many injections not much changed.

Then about 2 months ago it started getting worse, and so did the way I reacted. New spots showed up on the back and top and even the opposite side of the head from the original spot. I became very self-conscious of the spots. I wouldn’t leave the house unless I had a hat on, which meant I stopped going to church, stopped going out to dinner at places where I couldn’t wear a hat and so on. To add to that, the side effects of some acne and weight gain from the injections didn’t help at all.

Now let me stop here and explain something. I don’t want to sound like someone who moans and complains about this. Like I’ve said before posting on here is for two reasons: 1) To let things out and 2) So that maybe someone can gain some sort of idea that they are not alone out there suffering with this. I want to clear up that I know I don’t have the worse case of Alopecia out there, and I give everyone who has this disease, whether it is worse than me or not as severe as my case, all the credit in the world for continuing to face the world each and everyday. Everyone on here, especially all the women who have lost their hair and embrace and are proud that they are amazingly beautiful give me the courage to face this disease as it continues to progress, so thank you.

So as I was laying in bed I realized that something needed to change. The next day I shaved off all my hair. It wasn’t that big of a shock to people because I already had buzzed it as short as I could but now I am smooth (well, when I do shave it). I didn’t hesitate to go out to a party the next night, and everything was fine. A bunch of people asked why I did it and instead of hiding or lying like I had in the past I was honest and explained the disease. The only bad thing was that one girl went around saying I had cancer (but she was quite intoxicated and stopped when asked).

A few people at work have asked about it or made comments. Sometimes I joke and say “well I was going bald already so why not speed up the process” if I don’t know the person too well but others I tell the truth. I had one regular customer break down into tears for me which is really not what I wanted at all. One thing I never want is for people to feel sorry for me, because I am not dieing and I’m not in pain or anything.
But it is nice to have a shaved head. I plan on posting a blog for all of you out there that are thinking about doing it to show you what products I use and tips on how to do it. I’m still waiting for my skin to adjust to it, and I got sunburned last week when I went out for an hour without sunscreen. But I’ll get used to it.

I’m also getting braver in how I act. Tomorrow I plan on going to daily mass (as my priest who called me to ask where I was suggested I do that) in the morning and at soccer practice I hope to not wear a hat for once. As for the weight gain from the injections I’m working out more but it’s hard with work. I have also explained to even complete strangers why I have a bald head.

I don’t remember where I read it on here but there was one saying that really struck a chord with me. I don’t remember it word for word but it was something like: We need to realize that we have alopecia, it doesn’t have us.

I hope that you all find the strength to take control of your lives and not let alopecia control it. Hope everyone out there is doing well….

-Drew