Did you know that September is Alopecia Awareness Month? I have to admit that I had no idea, until a few things changed in my life this past summer.
After years of unexplained extreme hair loss, I finally went through the process of being formally diagnosed with alopecia. Specifically, I have lichen planopilaris, a variant that takes out the eyebrows first.
It’s a nuisance having to draw on eyebrows every day, but I’m lucky to still have a good amount of hair on my head (for now). I may eventually need to build up a collection of hats or wigs, but so far the diagnosis hasn’t been too big of an adjustment. I just take the medications my doctors prescribe and try to avoid inflammatory foods.
Grieving a lost identity
When I first found out about my condition, there was a natural grieving process. If you’ve had a weird diagnosis of your own, maybe you know the feeling. I’ve always loved my hair, and I felt sad about the irreversible loss of it.
Around the same time I was diagnosed, I was also grieving the end of my homeschool career (for now, at least) as my kids started attending a wonderful local school.
It was a lot to deal with all at once, and one day I found myself crying out to God in prayer about it.
An unchanging identity
“Who am I if I don’t homeschool my kids? Being a homeschool mom is my identity,” I asked Him. “And on top of that, who am I if I don’t have hair??”
I felt a presence, a voice in my heart, clearly respond. “Your identity is my daughter.” I was moved to tears, knowing that God had granted me the consolation of remembering who I really am.
Even if I don’t have hair, even if the identity I carefully constructed for myself is suddenly yanked away, I am still a beloved daughter of God. Nothing can ever change that.
Now, I know that grieving changes and losses of all kinds is not that simple. I don’t want to sound like I am minimizing the suffering that autoimmune conditions like alopecia can cause. But just as it was helpful for me to remember that my identity is so much more than my physical appearance or how I educate my children, I hope my answered prayer can be helpful to you, too, as you navigate your own diagnoses or life changes.
Two saints for alopecia
After that prayer, I began to wonder if there might be any saints who could be a patron for me as I figure out life with alopecia.
In honor of Alopecia Awareness Month, here are two saints I found who can be particular intercessors in heaven for all of us suffering from alopecia.
1St. Agnes of Rome
While there is no official patron saint of alopecia, St. Agnes is a natural contender for the job.
According to tradition, her hair miraculously grew long and thick during her imprisonment and martyrdom.
She is often portrayed with long, flowing hair, so those experiencing hair loss often seek her intercession and protection.
2St. Rita of Cascia
Besides being the patron saint of impossible causes, St. Rita is informally associated with alopecia. Here is a report from the International Journal of Trichology:
In Christian iconography, [St. Rita] is depicted with a bleeding forehead wound and sometimes holding a thorn. The forehead wound is understood to represent partial religious stigmatization and external sign of mystical union with Christ. In our opinion, it is at the same time reminiscent of the thorn frontal fibrosing alopecia represents to women affected with the condition, and its treatment with intralesional triamcinolone injections along the frontal hairline is much like the forehead wounds caused by the crown of thorns.
St. Agnes and St. Rita, we ask for your prayers for all those who suffer from alopecia, in September and all throughout the year.
