Alex is one of the 2021 recipients of our Sponsorship Program and we are so proud of his wonderful story! Read his alopecia story below.
Hi, my name is Alex. I am eight years old and I have had alopecia forever (Mum says I was one when I started to lose my hair). I used to have no hair on my head when I was two and I loved wearing beanies in winter. My favourite beanie was a strawberry one but then we met a really nice friend who knitted me a frog beanie. Frogs are my favourite animal so that’s my favourite beanie now. When I had no hair, people often looked at me a lot and thought I was sick. But I’m not sick, I just have alopecia.
Ever since I was a little kid, I have liked figuring out how things work. Even before I could walk, I used to like spinning the wheels on bikes, toy prams and cars and watching what happened. I also love the sandpit and play in it for hours, building great tunnels, waterways, towers and bridges. My Dad is an engineer and I want to be an engineer too. When I was in kindy, my favourite thing to do was play with the water course and design channels that let me control the flow of water. My hair started to grow back then, when I was in kindy, so I began to grow it long. My hair is really long now and I am trying to grow it long enough to donate it to wigs for kids so kids with no hair can have long hair too. I still have to make sure I put suncream on my patches when I go out, or wear a hat.
I’ve always loved engineering. That’s why I want to go to the engineering class and learn how to build the best bridges. I think having alopecia makes me really lucky because I get to do engineering classes. One day, I’m going to be a great engineer.
Alex’s Update:
This sponsorship has come at the perfect time. Alex is beginning to lose more and more patches and it’s quite prominent on the top of his head now. In the past, Alex has seemingly not been affected emotionally or psychologically by his alopecia areata. He’s always taken it in his stride and lived like it was never an issue, which I don’t think it has been for him. But this time, it really is having an impact. Lots more people are asking him why he’s losing his hair and he finds he’s having to explain quite frequently. It’s also a constant reminder of what’s happening. Alex absolutely loves his long hair and it’s tough-going right now.
Having access to this amazing engineering program, which is the love of his life – really gives him something to focus on and look forward to. It’s only been running two weeks but he’s already built the Sydney Harbour Bridge – pretty impressive feat! He’s been really enjoying working alongside the small group of boys, learning about bridge structures and how to make sure they don’t fall down. Next week, he’ll begin building the Story Bridge – Brisbane’s own. It’ll be great to get out and go for a bike ride under the bridge to compare the real deal to his model.
Love, Alopecia 
Leave a Reply