Anna Lisa Parrish
I will never forget the look of unconditional love on my baby girl’s face as I walked out of the salon bald and in tears. It was a look that changed me forever. I was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes hair loss (in my case, total body hair loss”> when my daughter was about seven months old. I had been losing clumps of hair for a couple months but I just thought it was normal, postpartum hair loss. I knew I had a problem when I realized all my arm hair was gone. During the time of my diagnosis, I was at the lowest point of my life emotionally and physically. I felt very uncomfortable with my body and I was very self-conscience about how I looked. We had just moved to a new city for my husband’s job and I was having a hard time adjusting to a new city and having two kids. I was not in a good place and now I had a life changing diagnosis.
While my hair was falling out, I kept cutting it shorter just so it would look good and I wouldn’t have to deal with long strands of hair everywhere. One day I decided to go in and get a cute “boy cut” because my hair was too thin to look good short. To my horror, the hairdresser took a number eight razor to my hair and shaved it all off! I was nowhere near being ready to accept my new reality with no hair, but now I didn’t have a choice. As I was walking out of the salon, I stopped to pick up my daughter (thank God my husband and kids were there with me”> and when I picked her up, she looked in my eyes and smiled at me. It was in that moment that I realized that no matter what I looked like, I was always going to be her mommy. In a split second, my seven month old changed my outlook. I am more than my hair. I am more than my outward appearance. I am a daughter of God. I am a wife and a mom. I am a daughter and friend. I am a business owner. I am me. I am more than my hair.
It’s been a little over two years since my diagnosis and I have lost over 95% of my hair but I am happier than I have ever been. I own my own business, I am in the best physical shape I’ve been in for a long time, and most importantly, I am confident in myself. I decided shortly after my diagnosis that I wouldn’t wear a wig or cover up my bald head because I wanted to be true to myself and show my kids what it’s like to totally accept yourself, flaws and all. I see in the blessings around me every day how alopecia has made me a stronger and better woman and I can honestly say I am thankful for my alopecia.
