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BHAVANA VANGARAHair loss gave teen Skylar Lewis new insights that strengthened her character and broadened her dreams.
PLANT CITY - Enter Skylar Lewis' room and the first thing that catches your eye is the collage, a tribute to her favorite singer, Usher. The photographs, ripped from magazines, are scattered on every wall.
Skylar, the youngest in a family of three kids, is like just about every teenage girl: She loves music, photos of boys adorn her walls, and her closet is packed with clothes.
But this 15-year-old is anything but typical. When she was 3, she was diagnosed with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss.
The disease, which caused Skylar to lose her hair completely when she was 9, hasn't stopped her from following her dreams. In 2002, Skylar won a regional competition of a county pageant. "I want to do other pageants," she said. "It was a lot of fun." Someday, she hopes to be a doctor.
Alopecia areata affects males and females and occurs most often during early childhood. Hair follicles are mistakenly attacked by white blood cells, which halt hair growth. The affected hair follicles shrink and slow production. It can take months or years for those hair follicles to rejuvenate. Sometimes, they never do.
Skylar's hair loss has caused some people to stare or make comments when they see her on the street. "I'd rather have people come up to me and ask about my disease rather than just stare as I walk by," says Skylar, a sophomore at Durant High School in Plant City.
Skylar has been through extensive treatment. When she was 12, doctors attempted a procedure to stimulate her hair follicles. It was "trial and error to see if the hair would grow back," she said. The experiments failed, but her family didn't lose hope.
"There was nothing (Skylar) had done to cause it. People have always made comments as we went by," said her mother, Elaine Gordon. "But you know what? Through her disease she inspires people. She has made me a better person just knowing her."
For about five years, Skylar has been giving alopecia awareness speeches in local churches. She usually speaks to a young crowd. "Children are the best audience," she said. "They're the most curious and ask me questions most adults would be afraid to."
After a speech to a large crowd at a church, 26 people donated hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to children with long-term hair loss. Families must prove they cannot afford the expensive wigs - the cost starts at about $3,000 - that are specifically fitted to the child's head.
The wigs are made from the hair of donors. The group estimates that about 80 percent of the ponytail donors are ages 10 to 18.
The group presented Skylar with her first wig in 2000. The cardboard box that once held her second wig is now filled with hair accessories. Some of those butterfly clips trail the edge of her curtain as a memory of Locks of Love's kindness.
Skylar recently applied for her third hairpiece, which the family expects to arrive in about four months. As do other applicants, she selected the color and length of the wig. Then Locks of Love matches the preference with a donor's hair.
Locks of Love and Matrix Hair Salons recently sponsored the "Matrix Search for Rapunzel" contest to find the donor with "the longest locks and biggest heart," said Deborah Kelco, public relations adviser for Locks of Love.
As she waits for her third hairpiece, Skylar remembers all the teasing she got from her classmates when she was younger. Other kids teased her because she didn't look like them. "Every day I came home crying because I was different," Skylar said. "I'm kind of glad I was diagnosed with (alopecia areata) because I'm not like every other person. . . . I became more aware of the outside world. I learned not to judge people by what's on the outside."
If she hadn't contracted the disease, Skylar said, "I wouldn't be who I am today."
- Bhavana Vangara, 14, is in the ninth grade at Palm Harbor University High.
To learn more
For information on Locks of Love and alopecia areata, visit the Web site at www.locksoflove.org For information on alopecia areata, visit the Web site at www.alopeciaareata.com