Doctor Dread

I'm a twentysomething with very few health problems. Besides the nuisance cold or cough, I've had no serious ailments since losing my hair. After a recent night with chills and a high fever it was time to go to the doctor. No problem, right? Not exactly. Although I am completely comfortable with my baldness around people in my everyday life, I have an unhealthy stigma of what a doctor would say about the alopecia. In short, I have not been to doctors because I was afraid of what they would say.

Swallowing back irrational fears, I put a wig on my clammy head for my first doctor's visit in a long time. The nurse asked me about family history and then she asked if there was anything else. In an uncharacteristically shy manner I said, "Yes, I have Alopecia." She was surprised because the wig was hiding the baldness. Then, she sat down next to me with a friendly smile and told me about her sister-in-law who also had Alopecia. This was such a relaxing experience and I was so thankful for the healing time she spent with me. Later, the doctor was very nonchalant and did not really talk about the Alopecia.

Dreading the doctor was so silly. I am continually growing, and it is hard to say that I will ever be 100 percent comfortable with my baldness. In the most beautiful way, the personal growth will be so much sweeter than any future hair growth.