I could not wait to return home & share what happened to me over this past weekend with my fellow alopecian sister's & brother's.
This January will mark the 5th year since loseing my hair to AAU, it was during my search for answers in those first painful weeks that I would read Leslie Ann Butler's book "If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing" which in turn would lead me to AW, my saving grace.
It is here I would find not only answers; but also,friends who were & are in the same proverbial boat as I. It was here I would meet a woman who would not only become my dear friend but whom I also consider my mentor, Mary Marshal. In talking & sharing with one another we would find we did not live that far from one another & met for lunch one wonderful afternoon( I encourage many of you who are able to do the same, it was/is so great. i am llookiing forward to many more) we would find we had much in common. Mary was a year ahead of me in hair loss & AAU as well. Being able to speak with someone who had been through what I was going through was healing for me it would also help me find my way as an alopecian woman; for I too choose to go ah natural, without a wig. To this day I go ah natural 95% of the time & it is this decision that brings about this wonderful story; of which I truly hope will bring a smile to the faces of all who read it.

This past Friday, September 14th, along with my wonderful husband & two of our dear friends attended the Terry Fator concert being held at the Fox Theatre in Riverside, CA.
For those of you who may bot be familiar with this extraordinarily gifted gentlemen; in 2007 he appeared on America's Got Talent where he would capture the heart's & funny bones of America he would go on to win with the assistance of the puppet characters he created such as the much loved Winston, the impersonating turtle (my favorite), Emma Taylor the little gal with a big ol voice who sings Ms. Etta James (sounds just like her to boot) "At Last" along with the silly Walter T. Airdale.
As the winner he received one million dollars & a year contract. At the end of the year, after performing to sold out crouds & calls coming in for more tickets The Mirage,would offer a 10 year & 100 million dollar contract along with his own theatre; where he continues to appear before sold out audiences & adds new characters to his ensemblle. Terry Fator is a gifted ventriloquist as well as singer & impersonator the combination is an act that is soo extraordinary. An act that makes you laugh your butt off as well as cry, especially when he sings a song he wrote call Horses In Heaven it is so very beautiful. His is truly a dreams do come true story.

This was our first time seeing his show live versus on DVD & we had a ball, laughing & crying, totally enjoying ourselves. Toward the end of the show right before he & Winston close with Louie Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World" he walked over to the stage area in front of our seats (when we purchased our tickets we knew we had good seats but didn't realize how good until that night, they were front row :) ) & stopped, looked right at me & said, I could not help but notice, you have such grace & confidence (as I said I go ah natural 95% of the time & this evening was no exception) what stage are you in with chemo? I sat there for a moment thinking, oh my gosh Terry Fator is talking to me, get it togeather Pam, I got it togeather. I smiled, replying to his question. First I thanked hiin for asking it was & is very kind, my baldness I answered was not due to chemo or radiation therapy's but due to a auto imnune disease called AA I have the rarest form of this cruel disease AAU which met I was devoid of hair on my entire body. He looked at me smiling & said I have heard of this through people & the tv. You are just beautiful an inspiration, wait just a minute; he excused himself & exited the stage returning within about 10 to 15 seconds with a stuffed Winston Jr turtle hand puppet. He looke at me saying I would love for you to have this. I stood up tears running down my face ,smiling & accepted this precious gift which was given from the heart.
I thanked him so much,he continued to say what a inspiration I was to those with AA or those going through chemo, it was then that I finallly heard the audiences applause, I thanked him again shook his hand, in a teary voice said Mr. Fator,September is AA Awareness Month, thank you for helping me bring it too the attention of fellow fans within the audience. He said your welcome, I hugged my new little Winston Jr to my chest thanked him yet again & sat back down into my seat leaning into my husband who put his arm around me giving me a huge hug; all the while to the applause from auddience. Yes I was crying.
Terry Fator stood there for a secondd smiling down at us, then turned went on with Winston & closed this remarkable show.

On the way out of the theatre we guessed about 20 to 25 people approached me with kind words of support while others asked questions about AA, all of which I gladly & happily answerd.
One of the ladies who approached me said, our daugher has AAT, I hugged her, saying ah an alopecian Mom, she said she was going to share this with her daughter tonight, she went on to say I'm going to tell her about a remarkable woman I met here this evening. I thanked her. I asked her to tell my alopecian sister she was not alone. She also said she & her husband had seen & met Terry Fator in Las Vegas, there they had purchased a Winston Jr stuffed puppet, as they left the show they thought they might be able to get it signed, they went to the stage entrance & explained about their daughter & a contiion she has called AAT, to their joy & surprise they were escorted in & met Terry Fator, who spoke with them & autographed the Winston Jr they had purchased, they were & are so grateful to him to this day, as am I.
You see what he asked & did all came from his heart, you could see it in his eyes, it was not one of those, hey look at me, how wonderful am I; no it was truly from the heart.

I never get mad when someone asks me if my baldness is a result of cheno or radiation therapy's, because until cancer is totally eradicated, it is the obvious assumption & we cannot be angry with another human being for reaching out to another, I take it as an opportunity to inform to teach about AA.

I left that theatre feeling soo happy, beautiful & a very proud alopeian woman.

I wrote Terry Fator a thank you note of which I hope he receives.

God Bless You All my Alopecian Sister's & Brother's.