Hi I’m Sarah Dorward or as Katelyn calls me Sarah D, I was born in Sunderland in 1992 the year it was made a City, I went to Hillview School before going to Southmoor Community School.

My Brother David who was six years older than me also went to the same schools but had left before I started he was an Electrician and had always looked out for me as I grew up, we were very close, David got engaged to his girlfriend Michelle on Valentines day in 2005 when he was 19 years old, Michelle was the same age as David and was like a sister to me and a lovely person to know, I was so happy for them.

David passed his final exam to complete his apprenticeship on his birthday the 10th May 2005 and everything seemed rosy for the future. Then less than 2 months later my David was gone, he was found at Michelle’s house by Her when she got home from work he had died of a massive asthma attack, I was devastated as were my Mam and Dad, I cannot explain how I felt or how I feel now the loss is so great that I cannot help but cry anytime that David is mentioned or anytime that I have to speak about him.

The summer passed and I went back to school which was difficult, it was coming up to winter when I noticed a lot of hair falling out of my scalp, lots in the brush and in the shower so much that my dad had to unblock the drain. Then it appeared, my hair falling out in 10 pence piece size circles, at first starting on my Temple and working its way backwards on my head with areas growing back and then falling out again. I was distraught I franticly tried to cover it up, using hair bands which got wider and wider as more fell out, I tied my hair back in a pony tail to keep covered the areas that couldn’t fit under the hair band.

Unfortunately it wasn’t always possible to keep the loss hidden and of course there were those cruel girls at school who rejoiced in tormenting me about it, even some who had been my friends and who I had confided in looking for support. Mam took me to the Doctors he didn’t know what had caused the loss but thought it could be stress related brought on by the loss of David, he referred me to the Sunderland Royal Dermatology Dept, the staff there were great and I was given a course of injections directly into my scalp which I was happy to have even though they hurt a bit, the treatment was designed to stimulate hair growth and reset the time switch in the hair roots which tells it when to shed and grow hair mine had been short circuited and was telling my scalp to shed the new hair prematurely and not grow new. Under normal circumstances everyone’s hair is eventually shed but this usually happens only after about 2 years and not all at once and over the whole head and not all in the same area as in my case.

Even with this treatment it was a constant battle new hair in and then a new bald patch would appear, I was then sent to the Dryburn Hospital for new treatment which is applied to my scalp no more injections, it was hoped this would do the trick it has been extremely successful I believe in conjunction with the support I have had from the group I have only small patches at the moment, but I am on the same old merry go round at the moment wondering if it will flare up again, I still have hope that it will work.

Things at first had eventually got so bad with my School Prom coming up I wasn’t even going to try to go to it. How could I with so much hair lost. But then Mam saw a competition for a real hair wig which was being run by Neville Ramsey through the local Echo and she got me to enter. To my complete amazement I won and what a difference it has been to me. Neville was fantastic he fitted me for the wig, cutting and styling it just right. I loved it! Mam also made enquiries and got me 2 wigs from the NHS (You are allowed 2 per year but they don’t tell you, you have to ask) these were not real hair and were about the same as you find on a Barbie Doll, I use these when it suits me but have bought a new Brunette real hair wig with money I got from the article in “That’s Life Magazine” the NHS ones I tend not to use everyday, one is Brunette and the other Black and Red quite a contrast. No one at school had really noticed a change in my hair style when I wore Neville's wig but with quick changes in hair colour that soon changed.

At school a boy came up and sneeringly asked are you wearing a wig, I replied, “Yes, I've got alopecia” he looked puzzled and a glazed look seemed to come into his eyes as he turned and walked away not knowing what to say back to me, but the next time I saw him he smiled winked and said Hi. Well School Prom Day finally arrived and with my good friend Rachel off we went to it in style, picked up at the door by the limo with Neville’s creation on my head I had a fantastic time, and then the icing on the cake, I was voted Prom Queen, I couldn’t have been happier.

So much has happened since, I go to college now in Durham and have become heavily involved in the support group what with the calendar shoot, articles in the paper and magazines I have gained a lot of confidence even getting my Dad to photograph me without my wig on for the magazine publication. Having alopecia is nothing to be ashamed of it can affect anyone at anytime, I hope you don’t get it, but if you do give us a call and join our group, get support and find out how to live with it and enjoy your life.