I had noticed that AAAF provided the Sponsorship program over the past 12 months, and thought often that maybe I could apply, but I kept thinking to myself that there are more people out there that deserve help and support then me. I eventually took the courage to enquire about applying for one, but again decided not to when the time came. In May I gained a spot at the World Ironman Championships in Kona Hawaii in October 2023, and thought maybe it was worth an application.

My alopecia first started in 1989 when I was in year 10 at school. I only had a couple of spots that you could not even see due to my long thick hair. The dermatologist prescribed some steroid cream, and the patches thankfully went away.

The next occurrence of my alopecia wasn’t until I was approx. 33 years old when I first found another patch as I had an itchy spot on my scalp. That is where my alopecia journey really began. Within 12 months I was wearing wigs and hiding the truth from the world, other than my immediate family and friends. I look back and I remember I wouldn’t even answer the door without a hat or beanie on, collect the mail or hang the washing up in case the neighbours saw me.

Over the next 15 years, I think I tried every possible potential cure – potions, creams, foods, medicines, steroid injections, and herbal concoctions until I got to the point of realising it wasn’t working and no amount of money spent was going to grow my hair back. Imagine getting 40 odd needles into your scalp in a hope that a few strands of hair might grow but all that did was give me headaches instead.

The pain and expense were not worth my mental and emotional health any longer. At one point I did randomly have complete hair regrowth as I went through my divorce, but that only lasted maybe 18 months until it slowly fell out again. I am now completely bald except a very small patch on the top of my head.

Over time, I started reading other Alopecia blogs and posts on social media and realised that maybe if I also “talk” about my alopecia amongst others hiding behind my keyboard, it could be a way of introducing myself to the world as to who I really was. I wasn’t as scared of others seeing me in public if I knew they had seen me on social media first. Eventually after a couple of years, I started going out more and more without worrying about others seeing me.

My last hurdle was work…and now I have conquered that one too, just in the last couple of months. I go to conferences, hold zoom meetings, go to client visits on site and even stand up in front of a room of people without hair.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with alopecia and there is not right or wrong, but I just always felt like I was fake with my wigs on. I wanted to be able to just walk out the front door without worrying who might see me. Free to live life as me, and not someone worrying if my wig is going to fly off walking across a street, or who might see me running from the swim leg to the bike transition without any hair because I took off my swim cap before I got my helmet on or changing in the bathrooms after a swim session.

Training for triathlons is on my daily schedule and not being open with my alopecia made it very difficult, to be social with others and to train with others. My sponsorship will help towards the costs of my training and my trip in October to Kona, and I hope in return that with my social media awareness, I will help others to accept their journey with alopecia as well, however that may be. There will always be days where you get sick of having alopecia and days I will cry and be frustrated over not having my long thick ponytail any more, but they do get less, as you grow knowing your hair does not define who you are as a person.

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