Hats off: Borders teenager left bald by alopecia aged just nine reveals online crowdfunder could change her life
Community rallies in support of mesh treatment...
Last updated 14th Oct 2024
A Borders schoolgirl who lost all her hair after developing alopecia aged just nine revealed her bald head has led some people to wrongly assume she has CANCER!
Jenny Thomson, from Morebattle, is opening up on her struggles with the disease, for which there is currently no known cure, in the hope of raising awareness of the condition, which affects around 100,000 people in the UK.
"It started on the first day of the summer holidays," the now 16-year-old recalled. "I lost a first patch at the back of my head, and it never really affected me that much. And then it obviously progressed and I started getting patches on the top of my head."
Then, she added: "It got to the stage where there wasn't a lot (left) - it was very thin what I had - so we ended up just shaving it (all) off. It was a big change for everyone to get used to."
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The teenager has kept her head hidden under a hat for most of the last seven years, but revealed the older she gets the harder it is for her to accept the condition.
"I've worn this hat every day for so long now," she told Greatest Hits Radio. "And I'm more used to wearing it now. But I've got lots of big events, like balls and stuff, coming up; which makes me aware of it more. Watching everyone else get all glammed up doing their hair, it is hard. But if I had to attend the ball in a hat, I would."
Jenny was thrown a lifeline recently when she learned of a specialist mesh treatment in Edinburgh, which she hopes can give her a full head of hair in time to attend next month's dance.
But, when costs of almost £3,000 were revealed, she feared it could be out of her reach - until she launched an online crowdfunder.
Jenny said: "I've got my S6 residential next year, and it was playing on my mind how I was going to get around that with wearing hard hats (for abseiling, for example) and doing lots of water sport, which obviously I can't wear the hat for.
"I was sitting in school thinking: 'There's no harm in trying to see if anyone would help.' I set the target at £800 and, within two-and-a-half hours, we'd reached over a thousand - which was mad! We were all left quite taken aback."
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While continuing to put on a brave face, Jenny admits living with alopecia has had an impact on her physical and mental health.
She said: "When the hair does come out, it's like having pins in your head sometimes. But because I've had this for seven years, it's a pain I'm almost used to now.
"Everyone experiences it differently. Some people's hair comes out within weeks, mine was over a period of months. Some people's pain is more than others, but I think... you just have to get on with it really, and ride it out."
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Thanks to the generosity of everyone who has donated to her GoFundMe page, Jenny is booked in with a hair specialist a week on Wednesday - October 23rd.
Explaining the treatment, she said: "They put like a mesh material onto my scalp, finely braid the hair, and pull it through. And they just add actual pieces of hair to fill it up and give me a full head.
"So, once it's on it doesn't come off. I can sleep, I can swim - just be like normal. But then it only lasts two years, and would all have to be replaced.
"It's all happening very fast, we're over the moon. A lot of my friends haven't seen me with a full head of hair before so there is a lot of nerves about how it's going to look, but it's going to be completely life-changing. It's going to be like having the old me again; I'm so excited, I can't wait."
For more details, and to donate, follow this link: Jenny's alopecia appeal
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