7-Year-Old Girl Inspires Fellow Alopecia Sufferers By Showing How to Turn Bald Into Beautiful
Seven-year-old Gianessa Wride lost her hair — all of it — but she feels great!
In a classic case of turning a misfortune into something inspiring, Gianessa is now serving as an inspiration to people who suffer from alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes the hair follicles to fall out.
Daniella Wride, her mother, told KUTV-TV that she first learned of her daughter's disorder last January when her hair came out as she started brushing it. A doctor later told her that Gianessa may have alopecia.
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In just 20 days, all of her hair was gone, and it upset her.
Daniella admitted that she was also troubled by her daughter's condition, "not because of what she looks like. I was more upset thinking that somebody might bully my daughter and I didn't want her to ever feel less beautiful than she is," she told People.
Daniella said she reassured her daughter that she's still herself even without the hair.
"You can't beat around the bush with kids. And instilling false hope, I think, it's kind of cruel in its own way. So we just let her know that her hair was falling out and it probably wasn't going to grow back," she told CBS News.
She told her daughter that her personality can still shine even though she's now bald.
An opportunity to show this cropped up when her school held a "Crazy Hair Day" contest.
Daniella said she thought of putting sticker jewels on her head, adding that this "just fit her personality" since "she's so vibrant and full of life and she loves everything sparkly."
Gianessa was an instant sensation in school when she came with her decorated head.
"When I walked in, everyone was crowding me about the jewels," she told People.
She won the school contest, greatly boosting her self-confidence.
"I was sad at first when I lost all my hair," Gianessa said. "But now I love being bald. I can do things to my head that other kids can't. I'm thinking now it might be fun to decorate my head with some sparkly butterflies and flowers."
Daniella said she's proud that her daughter is now serving as an inspiration to people with alopecia and other physical disorders. "People feel inspired by her, and that's wonderful," she said.
"We're hopeful that she'll show other bald kids that they can also embrace their baldness and can rock any look they want, in any way they can," she said.
