My stunningly beautiful twelve year old daughter has alopecia areata. There, I've said it. For the longest, I couldn't bring myself to do so. Her alopecia has now progressed to the point that I believe it is or soon will be alopecia totalis. Her hair is gone. Her brows are thinning. She has little or no arm and leg hair.


But what this twelve year old has is confidence and courage. She has a quick sense of humor and wonderful warmth. She never complains; she never has asked, "Why me?" The only moment of question and/or fear that I can remember in this now two year journey was when she asked, "Mommy, how do you know what I have is alopecia and not cancer?" Once assured that cancer didn't cause hair loss, rather the treatment of cancer could, she has rarely stumbled.


She doesn't cry, though I have. She doesn't worry, though I rarely stop. She does most if not all the things she wants to do. I pushed her to try out for cheerleader this year until I stopped to realize that the requisite tumbling and cartwheels could cause her to lose her wig. That's just it. My daughter has handled this so well that I forget she is dealing with it at all. Her stylist once said, "This girl's wigs have fun!" Indeed, they have frolicked in the surf at Garden City Beach. They have visited Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. They have played in the slides of the Great Wolf Lodge. They have occasionally fallen off.


She loves Justin Bieber. She likes "The Situation." She loves her cat. She loves her dad. She adores her mom. She loves her niece and nephew. She loves her ipod. She has one of the best laughs I have ever heard. She reaches out to those of disability. She's like so many pre-teens. She is bald.


I thank God that her illness is not life threatening. At the same time, the impact of an alopecia diagnosis for a pre-teenage girl in her and our world is not minor. She holds her head high. She lives her life. She is learning and teaching resiliency. She is learning and teaching to overcome.


What a true lesson in strength this child has taught me. What a powerful person is nestled inside this daughter of mine, just waiting to become all she can be. I can't wait to see.