Christopher Carney, with his sister Niamh
A FERMANAGH teenager who suffers from a hair loss condition that affects thousands of people across the UK, has spoken out to raise awareness.
Christopher Carney, from Enniskillen, was first diagnosed with alopecia at the age of 13.
The condition, as described by Chris, is ‘where the hair follicles are affected by the immune system, and your immune system attacks them and your hair starts to fall out’.
“First off I went to the barber and my dad spotted it. But he thought the barber had just taken a piece out. Gradually it just started falling out and getting worse.
“I’d never really known what it was,” he added.
But what challenges has he faced?
“I think the main challenges are around facing your fears. Things like going out in public and what others would think about it, I’d be nervous.
“When I went away to London with the scouts, I was away for ten days and that was when it started. I was nervous, I just didn’t want to take part in things. I thought that someone could come up and say something and that could put me off my day. And, I have had a few people come up and say things to me, it makes you feel bad and it does affect you.”
But when he posted the photo accompanying this article unto social-networking site, Facebook, he was overwhelmed with the positive comments and ‘likes’ that he received.
“It made me feel over the moon, because I wasn’t expecting it. I was expecting maybe my sister to ‘like’ it – but it just gave me more confidence. I feel like I can go out and do anything now.”
Christopher is aiming to increase awareness – as well as raise money for the Little Princess Trust, who provide ‘real-hair wigs, free of charge, to boys and girls all over the UK that had lost their hair to cancer’.
And they recently extended their activities to provide wigs for those children with alopecia.
“I’m going to do a few fund-raising activities and we’ll go from there,” explained Christopher.
And to keep up with him, you can visit: www.facebook.com/RaisingAwarenessAboutAlopecia.
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