Samantha LaMeres will forever remember 2007 as the year her life was flipped upside down.
The then-junior in high school was diagnosed with alopecia areata, which is prevalent autoimmune skin disease that causes sudden hair loss.
According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, it normally starts with one or more circular bald patches on the scalp and can result in complete hair loss.
LaMeres explains on Imgur that during her first six years with the disease, she would only get tiny patches of baldness she could easily cover up with her own hair or a hat:
“Yes, it was frustrating, but it was never really that bad,” writes LaMeres.
However, the past couple years it’s gotten “progressively worse,” so she decided to shave her head.
But LaMeres wants everyone to know just how hard it was to do such a thing:
“I thought that I would be emotionally stable enough to wear head wraps and hats confidently, but after quite some time it took a tole on my self confidence.”
People began asking questions about her appearance and it “really took its tole” on her. In an effort to boost her self-esteem, LaMeres started researching wigs.
Much to her surprise, they cost a pretty penny:
“During this process I discovered that they are not cheap. Like, woah, not cheap. Through the grapevine of my research I found that sometimes you can get insurance to cover wigs for you if you title it ‘full cranial prosthesis.’ After months of grueling, back and forth, back and forth, communication between my insurance company and me, they finally told me that it was something they would cover.”
LaMeres was so excited, she began to cry.
But LaMeres wants everyone to know just how hard it was to do such a thing:
“I thought that I would be emotionally stable enough to wear head wraps and hats confidently, but after quite some time it took a tole on my self confidence.”
People began asking questions about her appearance and it “really took its tole” on her. In an effort to boost her self-esteem, LaMeres started researching wigs.
Much to her surprise, they cost a pretty penny:
“During this process I discovered that they are not cheap. Like, woah, not cheap. Through the grapevine of my research I found that sometimes you can get insurance to cover wigs for you if you title it ‘full cranial prosthesis.’ After months of grueling, back and forth, back and forth, communication between my insurance company and me, they finally told me that it was something they would cover.”
LaMeres was so excited, she began to cry.
She had already found a style she was in love with and went to order it, but it didn’t go through.
To her dismay, the wig company informed her wigs are not and will never be covered by her insurance company.
“It’s really easy to get down on yourself when you look in the mirror and don’t have any hair,” she says. “I miss running my fingers through my hair. You never realize what you take for granted until its gone.”
By 2013, she saved enough of her money to get herself a wig. However, due to poor quality and wear and tear, she soon had to don her wig with a hat in order to conceal her baldness.
LaMeres is currently studying biology and immunology at the University of Montana, hoping to research her disease and help others who have it.
The NAAF reports more than 6.6 million people in the United States and 147 million worldwide have, had, or will develop alopecia areata at some point in their lives.
She says her hair can sometimes grow in short spurs at a time, and likes to have fun with it while she has hair to enjoy.
Since away at school, LaMeres explains that getting her degree is expensive, leaving her unable to afford a wig that would give her the “outlandish personality and self confidence” she once had.
“Receiving a new wig would change the world for me, so hopefully I can go on and change the world for many others with my condition.”
The college student has since created a GoFundMe page to help her afford a wig of her own.
