Support...

If there is one thing that you tend to learn when something in your life becomes less than perfect, it is WHO IS THERE FOR YOU and the power that a good support system has on your wellbeing. As women (and I'm sure men too, but I can only speak for my own kind!!), we like to think that we can handle everything on our own. We shut people out, we put on our superwoman capes and set out to take on the world by ourselves. However, sometimes it becomes necessary to say "I'm not ok" or "I need help". When Taylor (my daughter, for those just joining) was at the point in her hair loss where we pretty much knew it was Alopecia, but it hadn't officially been diagnosed, my first thought was to shut down and handle it on my own. While I wanted people to know so that they understood what the dramatic change in her appearance was from, I did not want people feeling like they needed to "help". I sort of shut everyone out and really didn't want to face it. As I have explained before, I was in total denial. I did not want people to feel sorry for her or us and feel like they had to express that she was "still beautiful" or that "it didn't matter". I was not sure how I felt about it and so I was not ready to hear how others felt about it. As time went on, and she eventually was diagnosed by the Dermatologist, it became evident that I needed a support group. While I was not looking for sympathy, it was definitely nice to know that people were here for us. It was reassuring to hear that people did not think I was selfish for being sad and that they were going to support Taylor no matter what. Even more amazingly, I had people reach out with contacts of other people that had children with the same condition. THAT was an amazing turning point in my outlook of all of this. I reached out to a woman who had a daughter slightly older than Taylor and she has been such a great resource for me. We had several mutual friends on Facebook who were all excited to have the two of us talk. I am so thankful for these people that linked us because I have learned so much from this connection. Since then I have gotten in contact with a few other people who have all been so nice and very willing to share their stories as well as information about doctors, treatments and other avenues of support. I am beyond thankful for this new community of people that are in our lives. I really underestimated the power of a good support system. Never again will I take for granted the blessings that we have of so many people that are willing to be a part of this journey with our family. I am amazed by the people in our lives: our families, our friends, and the strangers who have now become friends because of this. Alopecia is a scary thing. It does not cause physical pain, sickness, or death, but it is still a disease. It is unpredictable and relentless. It is not a journey that I would want to venture on alone and thankfully, it does not look like we will have to...