alopecia | Teen Ink

alopecia

April 9, 2015
By rawan alawneh BRONZE, Houston, Texas
rawan alawneh BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

                                                                             
                              

I was just a normal 7th grade girl until I found out I had alopecia. This all started when I was walking to my 5th period when my 4th period teacher stopped me and said I was going home.I gave her a confused look and headed to the front office. When I got to the front office I found my dad and gave him a confused look he told me I had an appointment to see a dermatologist. I grabbed my backpack and walked to the car. I took my backpack off my shoulders and placed it in the back seat. I got in the car and listened to music until we got home. When we got home I grabbed my backpack and ran inside. I set my backpack on the floor and changed into my blue and black soccer pants and t-shirt. I put my hair into a low pony tail and heard my mom yelling “LEXI LETS GO, WE’RE GONNA BE LATE TO THE APPOINTMENT!” so I ran downstairs, grabbed a granola bar and headed out the door.

I listened to music the whole way over there. I kept getting these thoughts on the way there like, omg what if I get cancer, what if all my hair just falls out. The thoughts kept going on and on. It took us more than half an hour to get there. We spotted a parking spot close to the doors so we didn’t have to walk the long distance. Once we parked the car, I was the first one to get out, then my mom, then my dad. We walked into this huge hospital with colors everywhere. We asked the lady at the counter where the dermatologist was. The lady replied, “it’s on the 4th floor, room 461.” We nodded our heads and said thank you.  We got into the elevator and headed up to the 4th floor. It took us about 5-10 min to find the room. “This is one big hospital.” I thought to myself. When we walked in I signed my name on a piece of paper, put the date, phone number and waited in the waiting room. I was texting my best friends Sandra, alexia, and keyajah
until I heard a lay call out “lexi?” me and my parents got out of our seats and walked to her.  She led my parents and me to a room. She said the doctor would be here shortly.

I examined the room. The walls were a light blue color. I sat down I a chair and waited until the doctor walked in. she was tall and had her long hair in a high ponytail. She asked me questions and I answered. She gave us some paper work and told us to go down stairs for me to get some blood taken away for test. We nodded our heads, said thank you, and we were headed down stairs.

When we found the room we walked in, and signed my name. we waited until  they called my name. The lady led me to this lime green room painted to look like you were in a jungle. She sat me down in a chair as I handed her my arm. I turned my head as she stuck the needle in my arm. I turned back and watched the tiny tubes fill with blood. She labeled the tubes of blood and took the needle out of my arm. The nurse put a black band-aid on my arm. She said she would call back in a week to give us the results.

 

 

 

 

It’s been a week since I went to the doctor. She called right after I came back from school. I answered and she said to check the diagnose on the papers she gave me. My diagnose said alopecia. I was confused for a moment until I googled it up and got a hair loss disorder due to stress. I was looking at my phone in shock and asked the
doctor if the test came back positive and they did. I have alopecia. I could see the sad looks in my parent’s eyes.


I kept thinking how am I going to break this to my friends, my friends will probably think im a freak like everyone else. The doctor told me to come back in 6 months.  2 months pass by and half of my hair is gone. I started to wear wigs to school and I still didn’t tell my friends about it. So I said today will be the day I tell my friends that I have alopecia.

I walk up to my friends and say  “ guys I need to tell you something.” They all looked at me with confused faces. “I have alopecia.” The confused faces were still there. I explain to them what it was and the confused faces went from confused too sad. “Sorry to disappoint you guys.” I say. They all look at me with an aw face.  Sandra replies, “you don’t have to be sorry, it’s not your fault.” I smile and they all nod. I thought they would think im a weirdo, I guess not.

By 6 months passing by and I’ve lost all of my hair. I went back to the dermatologist and she said my hair would never grow back.  I gave her a depressed look. She said she would give me treatments. I nodded my head and then we left.

I was entering my junior year. I took the treatments for about 4 years now and surprisingly my hair began to grow back! I was so happy that tears of joy ran down my face. I told my friends and showed my parents. We celebrated by going to a restaurant. The food was amazing. A week later I had to go back to the doctor to get a check up. The doctors were so surprised when they have see me. They said my hair would never grow back. Well guess what doctors you were wrong! I might be entering a beauty pageant later. Once there was a miss America with alopecia. That shows I can do it to 



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This article has 2 comments.


on Nov. 24 2015 at 4:32 pm
rawan alawneh BRONZE, Houston, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
thank you !

ElectraHeart said...
on May. 4 2015 at 8:30 pm
ElectraHeart, Wake Forest, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
“I can’t explain. You would not understand.
This is not how I am.”
— Pink Floyd, “Comfortably Numb,” Album: The Wall

You do a great job of portraying the fear one feels when going to the doctor's office with the crippling anxiety that there's something deathly wrong with them.