Amelia’s Story

My name is Amelia and I am 9 years old. I live with my parents, older sister and our two dogs.

When I was in Grade 2, I started losing lots of hair in my brush and my Mum took me to the doctors to see why. I had blood tests and then went to see a specialist. He told me I had Alopecia Areata. I was so scared to go to school and my teacher helped me to explain to my class what Alopecia is. I did a talk and showed them the video of Jamie. At the end, I answered any questions they had.

Before I developed Alopecia I did ballet, jazz and tap dancing, swimming and martial arts. Then when I lost more than half of my hair in two weeks I stopped doing all of these because I was embarrassed and scared. I didn’t want anyone to look at me and laugh. I was also really worried the water would make me lose a lot more hair.

I have learnt that even though I have alopecia I am still strong and healthy and I can continue doing all the things I love. Alopecia doesn’t stop me being the person I am. My friends and family don’t treat me any differently and now I love to go out and try new things.

I returned to swimming and love being in the pool and my coach told me his grandfather had alopecia universalis. My favourite swim stroke is freestyle but I also love doing butterfly.

This year I started horse riding and love how strong and powerful it makes me feel. I love spending time with the horses and when I’m older I would love to teach kids to ride. I have just learnt to trot and can’t wait to start galloping. I have also made new friends at horse riding. We talk about all the horse shows we watch on TV and our favourite horses.
For my next birthday, I would love to have a pony party at the riding school I go to.

Thank you for reading my story.

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This article was submitted as part of our #HealthyAlopecia Blog Competition which is running throughout 2018. One winner every month will be drawn to receive $2000 towards improving your journey with alopecia or creating a healthier you.  Find out how you can get involved and win $2000 here.