Four months of good nutrition and head massages have not helped the bald patches on Ava's head grow in. I took her to see the dermatologist (she saw two of them actually) this morning to see what could be done for her. It is unclear still whether the patches are alopecia areata
or the result of laying on her back in a crib for 4 years. The better prognosis would be the first. As it was explained to me this morning, "No matter how much fertilizer you use, if there is no grass, the grass won't grow." They asked me if we had ever seen pictures of her as a baby and whether she had hair. My mind tried to focus on this picture below and I could not for the life of me remember if she had hair or not. Well, she did, and a lot of it!
You probably can't tell in the photos, but the left side of her skull is flattened, from laying so long I imagine, and so that's why I imagine hair loss from laying is a possibility. If she layed long enough to damage the skull, I am sure she could have damaged some hair follicles too.
So for now we are going to rub one spot with steroid cream twice a day, and see if we can generate some peach fuzz growth. If so, there will be more options to help it grow out thicker and stronger. If it doesn't work, we'll assume it is the other, and we'll have to come up with some solutions like this: (Thanks Aunt Marlita!)
The doctor said no more pigtails or cornrows (I couldn't help but giggle at that statement)! As my friend Markay said...
"If God can restore the YEARS the locusts have eaten, how small a task it will be for him to restore hair follicles that were caused by a few years in an orphanage." Thank you for that reminder Markay. I hesitate to ask for prayer about something as insignificant as hair follicles, but doesn't He tell us in His Word that He does care about the number of hairs on our heads?
8 comments:
Aww, well I'm still holding out for hair! Funny, just yesterday I was telling my spa girl while getting a facial how much I hate my eyebrows and how I need more of them. She told me about a cream at Sephora that you use to stimulate growth from hair follicles. She said if the follicles are there, then this cream will help the hair grow from them. I suppose this is the same stuff you got? Good luck!
Praying, i know how alopecia affected our Meghan, it is not just hair they lose, but self esteem as well.
Did they metion squaric acid, there is another that they used to use that can cause cancer, I have a list if you want
Kris
We'll all hope for hair now that she is up and not laying down all the time. My mother put bows in my hair with scotch tape because she got tired of hearing about her handsome boy - there are always solutions and at least we can tell by that beautiful face that she is definitely a little princess.
She's precious with or without hair, but I don't blame you one bit for doing everything in your power to help her get hair. I think it will grow in time. 4 months is nothing compared to the 4years of improper nutrition and being left in a crib all the time. I know my typical daughter was born with a lot of hair, but by the time she was just a few months old, all she had left was a mohawk. It seems that it wasn't until her first birthday she finally had gotten a new head of hair and a full year of of good nutrition, so it might just take a while. :-)
Martha S. (RR)
Charissa I bet you look at that newborn picture and wish she had been yours from the beginning. I know that if she had been my 'patient' in the hospital I would have desperately wanted to take her home. That is the sweetest baby picture.
I see no problem with praying for her hair and will do so. God bless!
Charissa, nothing is insignificant to Jesus.
:):):)
You are right on, nothing is insignificant to Jesus! I have prayed for our little girlfriend who has DS and alopecia and God has answered our prayers!! And honestly- little Ava is so beautiful with our without a full head of hair!
Post a Comment