Mariam

It was in 2013 when I first discovered I had alopecia, I was 13. My mother was brushing my hair, in attempts to make a ponytail. She pulled my hair up and that's when I heard a concerned gasp and a sensation of a cold touch on my lower scalp, near my neck. She immediately called my dad and began to show him something towards the back of my head, all while I was sitting there confused. My father took a picture to show me what the fuss was all about. What I saw broke my heart. It was a picture of a small jar lid sized bald spot towards the bottom of my scalp, close to my neck. I felt my body go cold, my parent’s voices going muffled and it was as though I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

Immediately the next day my father took me to our family doctor and that's when I first heard the term “Alopecia”. He merely prescribed some water like medication and just like that, we were on our way home. Sometime after using the medication, my hair grew back and it was as though nothing had happened. It wasn’t until a few weeks later when multiple tiny spots started to show up all over my scalp. Once again, the medication worked and I thought it was all going to be fine. Then, as though the entire universe was conspiring against me, more spots showed up but this time, they never went away. Instead, the spots grew and grew until the disease stripped away every inch my hair, self-esteem, and happiness.