Triple D(Dreams Don't Die On Me)
“I was born like any normal and healthy child, with
a full head of hair.. After I turned 6, I woke up
one morning and my mum noticed that my hair was
falling off in patches!! In no time, I was completely
bald. Hence I began my journey as my mum started
visiting different doctors in search for answers!
Most of the doctors said it was an allergic reaction
to some food I ate and therefore, I was told to
stop eating fish, pork and game meat (wildlife),
which I did. I was then put on so many medications,
injectible, oral and even ointments for the scalp.
My mum also tried different kinds of home
remedies (traditional African medicine) that could
help with hair growth but to no avail. After so
many doctors only one doctor identified my
symptoms and diagnosed me with Alopecia. My
caring mother didn’t want me to “know” or think
about my diagnosis.
Alopecia is believed to be an auto-immune disorder
where your immune system fails to recognise “its
own” and so it attacks hair follicles as though they
were invaders hence causing hair growth to stop.
There are three kinds of Alopecia, there is Alopecia
Areata, Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis. I
have Alopecia Totalis which is basically loss of all
head hair.
My childhood changed drastically, my friends were
so used to seeing me with cute little hair styles
and suddenly I was wearing headsocks. Like every
inquisitive child, they wanted to know what I was
“hiding”, and they began asking questions. I was
bold enough to tell a few of my friends about my
situation but there were always those school
bullies!!
Bullying was probably the hardest challenge I had
to deal with in my school life because everyday I
would have other pupils threatening to pull off my
headsock and most of the time, they did it. It was
a difficult period for me I must confess, I even
hated going to school.
Before I turned 9, my hair grew back just on the
crown of head and it was some relief to me and my
family. I remember celebrating my 9th birthday
with the little hair on my head and I was so happy…
But in no time, my hair fell off, and that was the
last time I ever saw hair on my head… I had to
change schools and when I did, my mum always had
to ask for permission if I could wear a wig and
sometimes it would be difficult but eventually she
would manage.
When I grew a little older I now began to wear
wigs. When I was in my 7th grade, some pupils in
higher grades gave me a nick name “baldilocks”
and it was something I chose not to bother me, but
it always stuck in my head… As I grew older I could
say my mum lost hope in western medicines but she
never gave up on God, She always prayed for me
and that’s something I am really grateful for…
My family have always been so supportive to me,
even on days when I would cry and complain about
my illness, they always gave me comfort and made
me feel special in my own little way.
I then went to high school and my dad took me to
a chinese doctor who had performed some kind of
procedure on my scalp but to no avail. Sadly, when
I reached my 12th grade, my mum passed away
and it was something really difficult to deal with.
Mum fought many years to see me get cured but
to no avail. I almost felt like that was the end of
our search to finding me the cure. I was grieved by
her passing and one thing I would always cry about
was “Who is going to pray for me now? Who is going
to massage my scalp?” It really wasn’t the easiest
thing to deal with but then I realised that there is
a time when one needs to take things in their own
hands and hope for the best.
I therefore, completed my high school and now
began to have thoughts about taking my wigs off
and just be me. I always found something negative
about it and brushed it aside until recently when I
attended a Gospel concert and it was during that
concert that I had an encounter with God and God
told me to accept my situation. The acceptance did
not happen in one day, it was a process.
One day my sister had asked me to escort her
somewhere and when I was getting dressed, I did
my make up without my wig on, I looked in the
mirror and said ”hmm, not bad”, and that was how
I started going in public without a wig or headsock.
I heard people passing different comments about
the look and most of them were passing good and
encouraging comments (even though they didn’t
know what was behind the look, they all thought it
was a hair cut lol).
Another time I was walking somewhere, I met my
brother and he said to me ”uh tash, you have
forgotten your wig” and I said “no, I’ve left it
behind” and that’s how I stopped wearing wigs.
Later that evening, I uploaded a picture on my
facebook account and my oh my, I was so
overwhelmed by the responses I received, I could
not believe how people reacted to my drastic
change. I never knew that just the one step I made
could have touched so many lives.
Making the decision to stop wearing wigs has
probably been one of the best decisions of my life.
Being a photographer, the baldness gives me a
some what “artistic” look and I love it!!! I am so
comfortable in my skin, I’ve never felt more
confident and beautiful in my entire life! I love
myself for what God has created me to be and
that’s what matters.
I have recently been able to locate two other
women who share the same situation with me. I
actually managed to get one of the ladies to
accept her situation and she recently also stopped
wearing wigs. I was so proud of her.
Alopecia is a rare condition, 1 person in 1 million
people suffers from Alopecia, it’s that rare.
I am 18yrs old and a professional photographer. I
am not dating at the moment but I know with time
God will bless me with a man who will love me and
accept me for who I am”.#natasha is a blessing to all Zambian girls and has inspired lots of souls around Africa at the age of only 18..be like Natasha,be bold,don't let your dreams die on you#Inspired
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