The last few months have been like a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs.

My alopecia journey began about four months ago when I noticed clumps of my hair falling out which led to me finding a bald patch in my hair.  The next few weeks I had appointments with my local GP, blood tests and then finally an appointment with a dermatologist to finally receive my diagnosis of alopecia. I was not surprised when I received my diagnosis as after I found my bald patch I had spent a lot of time googling what it could be. My emotions during this time were up and down – I went from being sad about losing my hair, to happy that it wasn’t something more serious to periods of being scared about losing all my hair.  As a 16 year old girl who has her ball coming up in the next six months it is very difficult some days to know whether I will lose all my hair, have bald patches or whether my hair will grow back.

My friends, family and my sport have kept me going through all of my ups and downs. I compete in acrobatic gymnastics which is where teams of two or three athletes perform routines with a variety of skills – I usually tell people to think about cirque de soleil as they do a lot of acrobatic routines!  I train 5 hours a week for my sport and I am currently in a trio (group of 3) competing in the masters gold division.  Masters for acrobatics means that all the athletes have to be over 16 years of age. Last month my team travelled to the Gold Coast for the National Clubs Carnival – It is the biggest gymnastics competition in Australia. It was very exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. My team worked hard in the lead up to the competition and it resulted in us coming away with the gold medal!

To say that I was happy, excited, proud was an understatement. To top off our competition at the National Clubs Carnival I also competed in team gym which is where a group of athletes perform a floor, mini tramp and a tumble routine. Our team came away with another gold medal and one of the highest scores ever on the floor routine.

Now that the competition is over it’s time to focus on the future and look towards new groups and routines. I can’t wait to see what my next season holds for me.

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Claire was a part of our sponsorship program – you can also participate! Go here to learn more https://aaaf.org.au/sponsorship-program