I haven't blogged in two months. At first it wasn't intentional, I was busy, summer was in full swing and there wasn't much to share. Well, there was a little to share. Hair and eyelash growth!!!! I should have been shouting to the world, I mean this is what we have been waiting for, right?!! Yes!! Of course, but I was terrified to share and to talk about it. I guess I was subconsciously taking the "glass half empty" route but pretending that I believed that the glass was "half full". In reality, I did not want to jinx it. However, in my hesitation, I failed to share with all of you the true joy and excitement that comes with watching your little girls hair grow. I did an injustice with not sharing the positives of it but also the fear. And now, it's too late. As quickly as it sprouted, it left even quicker. I'll get to the, but I do want to relish in the nearly two months of joy we felt as we watched her go from being completely bald to having a head full of "fuzz" (as we called it) and eventually even ending up with some longer, dark pieces of hair in the back!
We had decided to try a sample steroid cream that was given to us by the initial Dermatologist that we saw. My husband tested it on himself first (secretly, I think he wanted to see if he could sprout some hair as well!!!). When he had no irritation, discomfort, or allergic reaction, we tried it on her. It was a small sample and we used it for less than a week. I kept up with the daily "dose of sunlight" regimen and did not think much of it. Sure enough, though, hair started growing, then eyelashes. It was as if the steroid cream was just enough to jump start the process and then the sunlight and her own body allowed the process to flourish.At night we would lay there and just look at how great It was doing, but the topic of conversation always ended with a discussion of fear. I tried to not think that way, but when you are the parent of a child with Alopecia, the thought is constantly running through your mind.
Sure enough, the day came that it all fell out again. Two weeks ago we spent a night awake fighting 102-104 degree fevers while listening to what we thought was a congested child, but knowing that something just wasn't right. At 6 am the following morning I decided it was time to take action and ignore the advice of our pediatrician who had told us the day before it was "a virus that needed to run its course". I set off to a hospital 45 minutes away from our house and was greeted so kindly at the pediatric ER. While there, they discovered that Taylor had croup AND pneumonia. She was immediately put on IV antibiotics and was given IV steroids and a nebulizer treatment. We spent the day in the hospital and came home and spent a few more days of her not being herself. In the back of my mind the question remained... Would "it" happen? I didn't have to wonder for long. Within days, as her body began fighting off the infection, it also attacked her hair. It literally took only a few days and it was all gone. I feel crushed, despite knowing that it could happen at any moment. Was this going to be what would happen every time she gets sick?! Anytime she has any stressor or trauma?! The answer is unknown for sure, but my gut tells me yes. When sickness strikes in a person with Alopecia, everything is at risk... I thought it would get easier, especially having the knowledge to back it up, but it's only gotten harder. However, this is life... This is our life... This is Alopecia!!!!
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