A Rose with no petals

Hello everyone so about 5 years ago on July 18th, my sweet beautiful niece was born; her name is Rosetta. At first everything was normal and typical for a healthy newborn baby. She started to lose all of that baby hair like most babies do, except in this case she also lost her lashes and eyebrows; her hair did not grow back either. Obviously not so typical anymore.

Immediately we knew something was wrong. She was taken to doctor after doctor and finally we had an answer. Not even a year old yet and we discovered she had a rare condition for her age called alopecia totalis. We learned that this condition is genetic and will more than likely affect her for the rest of her life. Basically the alopecia she has is an autoimmune disorder where her own immune system attacks her hair follicles which affects her hair growth. 

Today she is known as Rosie and is the sweetest 5 year old girl ever. I'll tell you more about sweet Rosie. Her smile will melt your heart and she always has that big beautiful smile on her face. Her personality shines brighter than the sun. She is the happiest little girl in the world. She loves unicorns and playing with her 2 older sisters. This little girl loves some candy and knows how to sneak way more than her mommy would like her to have.  She started kindergarten this year and will have a baby brother soon. She's your typical  5 year old girl despite the fact that she doesn't look like most girls her age, who by now have a ton of hair. 

Up until a few months ago having no hair never bothered her. She was too young I suppose to get it. And she still doesn't understand that she will probably be like this for the rest of her life. She believes she will grow it soon. We are starting to see her make more comments about it. She is bullied at school. The kids are mean; they say hurtful things. They don't understand why she looks different and they definitely don't understand how beautiful she really is. She's just different.

Everywhere she goes people assume she's sick with the terrible C word. She gets looks and comments from strangers daily. Children whisper to thier moms "whats wrong with her?" They pity her, they talk about her, and right now she doesn't notice this. But she will one day. There's nothing to pity. She's healthy, beautiful, smart and full of love. She's just different.

   My heart breaks for her. She is getting older and will soon face more challenges and struggles due to this. She will soon understand that her hair is not going to grow like her 2 older sisters. This world is cruel and bullying has become an epidemic these days. It will only get worst for her as she grows.

Rosie has this pink frilly skirt that she likes to wear as hair.  She wears it when she feels like having hair that day. It's fun and super soft which makes it very comfortable unlike the many itchy, hot, and cheap wigs you can buy online. And who can blame her? We all want to be comfortable. Our goal is to get her the wig that she will not only love looking at but love wearing too. 

My dream for my niece is to hopefully spare her as much heartache as possible and give her the option of hair, should she ever need or want it. I want to protect her like her parents want to. But we can't, all we can do is teach her how to cope; support her when she needs it, and lastly pray for the best. Pray she finds strength and courage to deal with this. Pray she learns to love herself and see what a true beauty she really is. We hope that she learns hair isn't something she needs to be beautiful. She is healthy and that's all that matters.

But having hair should be an option for her if she wants it. It's an accessory that most women love and have but take for granted. If she wants to wear it just for fun or decides to wear it every day. Its up to her and whatever decision she makes, then we fully support it. And Rosie is now at a point in life where she can make that decision on her own. 

So my goal is to give her that! I have grown my hair out for over 8 years. Departing with it is foreign, sad, new, and hard for me. All I've known is long hair, it's my favorite accessory. But I want Rosie to experience that as well. I am cutting it all off and donating it for her to have a custom wig made so that she too can enjoy it as much as I have.

The wig will be made out of real hair. Rosie will be able to style it like she wants, brush it, wash it; all the things girls love to do with their hair. It's easy maintenance and will last a lifetime. It will also be designed with comfort in mind. It will not be an itchy and hot wig that she will never wear. It even grows with her; the band is expandable and custom fit to her head. We are also having the hair dyed to match her sisters hair color. She will get to experience what every other little girl her age gets to with this wig.

The problem? Even with donating my own hair, it's super costly. We need help raising the funds in order to get her this real hair of her own that she will love and cherish for many years.

Please support our cause. Support Rosie in this transition in her life. Help us help her find her confidence and her option to choose "what will I do with my hair today?". She will know that this wig only enhances what beauty is already there, even though she doesn't need it, she's  beautiful without it. This is something that will grow with her and be there in times that she needs or wants it. This is something she can wear to school, the mall, or even to bed if she wants to. The kids will see what we have seen all along. And that's how amazing and beautiful Rosie is.

She's our little Rosie. Her name is fitting, after all roses are beautiful. She's lost her petals but not her beauty. Please help me help her get her petals back. 

Thank you, 
A loving supportive aunt