Bridget Fraser

My daughter Issy has Alopecia Areata Universalis.  At the age of 4 she began to lose then regrow small patches of hair, at age 9 she lost all of her hair and as her 13^th birthday approaches I couldn’t be more proud of the beautiful, strong, resilient, confident young woman that she has become.

Issy has never let her hair loss define who she is as a person. From the very beginning she has embraced what many see as an emotionally and socially debilitating condition, as a freedom that most people may never experience. Issy focuses on the positive aspects of having no hair such as: the time she saves not having to wash and style every day, not having loose hair annoy her in the wind, no razor nicks and cuts, or waxing in the near future and the fact that her sister Ruby (11) cannot return a pull of the hair in the middle of a scuffle. She has never complained about having Alopecia or questioned why this has happened and has never let it hold her back.

Variety Children’s Charity have a fabulous ‘Hair with Heart’ program that assists family’s financially to obtain wigs for those affected by Alopecia. We were lucky enough to be the recipients of one of these grants which enabled us to purchase a beautiful suction wig for Issy that is digitally mapped to her scalp for perfect fit and comfort.

After receiving such amazing support and care for our whole family I would like to give back what I can. I know not all of those affected by Alopecia are as confident and comfortable in their own skin as Issy so this month I will be donating my hair to the ‘Hair with Heart’ program in the hope that it might help someone else with Alopecia find their smile and walk with their head held high in a beautiful wig.

Another wonderful group of volunteers that’s has helped us since the onset of Issy’s hair loss is the  Australia Alopecia Areata Foundation (AAAF), a self-funded organization that does amazing work to help children, adults and their families emotionally, socially and financially throughout their journey with Alopecia. Hopefully one or more of the many research programs supported by AAAF will provide a solution for safely combatting hair loss in the future.

I have set up a fundraising page for the AAAF and would be extremely grateful for any contributions to help out with the incredible programs they run – especially the annual AAAdventure Camp! – and the multiple clinical trials and research programs they support.

Hopefully we can make a difference together.

Thank you in advance for your support and kindness

Bridget (super proud mum of Issy & Ruby) Fraser