A Mississippi cheerleader is raising awareness about an unpredictable autoimmune disorder.Alopecia may have taken Bella Daniels’ hair, but not her spirit. The 10-year-old has worked hard to be one of the top girls, the ones lifted into the air on her cheer team, Pink Army Reloaded."When I first started, I was at the bottom, and this really heavy girl was standing on my knee, so I hated it. I did not like it at all," Bella said.Cheering on two teams and balancing school is a lot for Bella, but this year brought a new challenge."At first, my brother noticed a spot on the top of my head, or something, and we thought nothing of it," Bella said. "We thought someone stepped on my hair at cheer, or something."But soon it was clear that Bella’s long, thick, beautiful hair was thinning fast."Then we went to the dermatologist and they diagnosed me," Bella said.The dermatologist diagnosed Bella with alopecia."What she has is not contagious. It’s an autoimmune disease that attacks the hair follicles. It thinks that it’s a virus," said Bella’s mother, Robyn Daniels. Robyn said alopecia isn’t exactly rare – 6.8 million people have some form – but it’s different for everyone. Bella’s doctor didn’t think she would lose all of her hair, but by January, she had."It was horrible. I hid it from her. I cried. As a mom, I wanted to fix it, and I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to fix it," Robyn Daniels said.Robyn worried Bella would be made fun of, ostracize, or just feel sad that she looked different."I'd be like, 'Baby, you know you’re going to lose the rest of your hair. Are you OK with that?' She’d be like, 'mmhm,'" Robyn Daniels said.Soon, Bella lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, too. And to Robyn Daniels' relief and amazement, Bella took it in stride."It wasn’t that bad, but sometimes in school I’d feel something on my back and it would be a handful of hair. Sometimes I got nervous, but not a lot," Bella said.Bella’s cheer coach, Jordan Hall, said she came to him privately after her diagnosis."Last year, Bella came to me and said, 'Coach Jordan, am I not going to be able to cheer if I lose my hair?' And so, for me, that was like we all stopped and remind these kids what cheering is all about, and what teamwork is all about," he said. "I'll tell you, I haven't seen Bella miss a beat. She hasn't let this thing get to her at all. Hair, no hair. She doesn't care.""She has never shed a tear. She has never asked why, and when you ask her, 'Are you ready for your hair to grow back?' She says, ‘It will be in God’s time,'" Robyn Daniels said.Bella said she doesn’t consider herself to be a role model. Her mother disagrees."That’s why we wanted to do this: to bring awareness to alopecia. Most people we meet ask, 'What kind of cancer does she have?'" Robyn Daniels said.Robyn Daniels said the teasing she worried about hasn’t happened. Bella’s friends, school and community have rallied around her. She gets starts, so many that her mother bought her an "Alopecia Awareness" shirt. Bella will try some new treatments this year that might help her regrow her hair, but either way, she’s OK."I really don’t care what happens because I’m still me," Bella said.Bella’s dermatologist appointments weren’t covered by insurance, so her gym family at Jam Athletics banded together and raised money for their bills and to buy a wig for Bella. She wore it for a while, but it was hot and uncomfortable and made her feel more self-conscious, so for now, she uses it for TikTok videos.Watch the video above for the full story.
A Mississippi cheerleader is raising awareness about an unpredictable autoimmune disorder.
Alopecia may have taken Bella Daniels’ hair, but not her spirit. The 10-year-old has worked hard to be one of the top girls, the ones lifted into the air on her cheer team, Pink Army Reloaded.
"When I first started, I was at the bottom, and this really heavy girl was standing on my knee, so I hated it. I did not like it at all," Bella said.
Cheering on two teams and balancing school is a lot for Bella, but this year brought a new challenge.
"At first, my brother noticed a spot on the top of my head, or something, and we thought nothing of it," Bella said. "We thought someone stepped on my hair at cheer, or something."
But soon it was clear that Bella’s long, thick, beautiful hair was thinning fast.
"Then we went to the dermatologist and they diagnosed me," Bella said.
The dermatologist diagnosed Bella with alopecia.
"What she has is not contagious. It’s an autoimmune disease that attacks the hair follicles. It thinks that it’s a virus," said Bella’s mother, Robyn Daniels.
Robyn said alopecia isn’t exactly rare – 6.8 million people have some form – but it’s different for everyone. Bella’s doctor didn’t think she would lose all of her hair, but by January, she had.
"It was horrible. I hid it from her. I cried. As a mom, I wanted to fix it, and I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to fix it," Robyn Daniels said.
Robyn worried Bella would be made fun of, ostracize, or just feel sad that she looked different.
"I'd be like, 'Baby, you know you’re going to lose the rest of your hair. Are you OK with that?' She’d be like, 'mmhm,'" Robyn Daniels said.
Soon, Bella lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, too. And to Robyn Daniels' relief and amazement, Bella took it in stride.
"It wasn’t that bad, but sometimes in school I’d feel something on my back and it would be a handful of hair. Sometimes I got nervous, but not a lot," Bella said.
Bella’s cheer coach, Jordan Hall, said she came to him privately after her diagnosis.
"Last year, Bella came to me and said, 'Coach Jordan, am I not going to be able to cheer if I lose my hair?' And so, for me, that was like we all stopped and remind these kids what cheering is all about, and what teamwork is all about," he said. "I'll tell you, I haven't seen Bella miss a beat. She hasn't let this thing get to her at all. Hair, no hair. She doesn't care."
"She has never shed a tear. She has never asked why, and when you ask her, 'Are you ready for your hair to grow back?' She says, ‘It will be in God’s time,'" Robyn Daniels said.
Bella said she doesn’t consider herself to be a role model. Her mother disagrees.
"That’s why we wanted to do this: to bring awareness to alopecia. Most people we meet ask, 'What kind of cancer does she have?'" Robyn Daniels said.
Robyn Daniels said the teasing she worried about hasn’t happened. Bella’s friends, school and community have rallied around her. She gets starts, so many that her mother bought her an "Alopecia Awareness" shirt.
Bella will try some new treatments this year that might help her regrow her hair, but either way, she’s OK.
"I really don’t care what happens because I’m still me," Bella said.
Bella’s dermatologist appointments weren’t covered by insurance, so her gym family at Jam Athletics banded together and raised money for their bills and to buy a wig for Bella. She wore it for a while, but it was hot and uncomfortable and made her feel more self-conscious, so for now, she uses it for TikTok videos.
Watch the video above for the full story.
Source link
