I know I regularly write about my grandson Jeremy in my column, yet, up until now, I have never mentioned that my little man is totally hairless. He was a perfect newborn baby with all ten fingers and toes, a healthy cry, and the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen on a baby around piercing blue eyes. He was an absolute angel. However, he started losing all his thick, dark hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes, at about ten months old. Doctors called it alopecia totalis, an immune deficiency that basically tells the hair follicles in your body to take a nap. After going to a Pediatric specialist, she informed us that it would not affect his health. He would simply not have hair.
After recently reading an article in the New York Post featuring a young girl who was also diagnosed with alopecia, I felt the need to jump on the bandwagon to help spread the word about this medical condition. Sadly, I am sure it affects this little lady’s daily routine in a way my grandson does not have to deal with because little boys can get away with sporting a beautiful bald head. I do believe females have a much harder time adjusting.
In Jeremy’s case, most people assume he is terminally ill or recovering from cancer. Even though he runs around as any healthy, six-year-old boy would, it really is hard for some people to get past the outward appearance.
Unintentionally, he now has a way of getting anything and everything he wants from total strangers, sometimes without even asking. My husband Joe and I believe he is the luckiest pup we’ve ever met. When we go to a festival, Jeremy gets to ride the rides for free. Jeremy doesn’t even have to play the game to win a prize at fairs. My little guy can be at the back of the line when clowns are around, behind dozens of other children already waiting, yet, suddenly, he will be the next child to receive whatever treat or favor they are giving away. You name it. Free ice cream. Free pretzels. He always manages to get whatever he lays his eyes on for FREE! Above all, Jeremy’s head is a face painter’s dream canvas. Even when I do pay for the artwork he chooses, he usually ends up with more than I paid for. The artists can’t help but want to decorate his perfectly flawless noggin.
One holiday, we actually boarded a cruise ship several hours before our scheduled time. Anyone who has been on a cruise knows boarding alone can be an all-day process. One of the gentlemen in charge, “Brian,” spotted Jeremy in the crowd. Even though we were about to depart on a 7-day “SUNfilled” Caribbean vacation, he decided Jeremy shouldn’t wait in the lines out in the hot sun. We tried to explain that Jeremy wasn’t sickly, and we had our native Floridian, fair-skinned boy covered in 100-percent waterproof sunscreen. This concerned man still insisted we enter the ship immediately.
Jeremy seemed to mesmerize the entire crew upon boarding the ship that trip. We were all treated like royalty the whole cruise. He even managed to get the Head Maitre’ D to deliver him chocolate-covered strawberries during his morning room service, pleasures Joe and I had never experienced before on the many cruises we had taken.
Still, all of Jeremy’s unexpected special treats do not compare to the endless thoughtful words and prayers passersby send him daily. Even after we repeatedly explain that he is a healthy young boy. Hair or no hair, that child has a glow that no one can deny.
I can only hope the world is as warmhearted towards our new South Wales inspiration as it is to my little man. I know she and Jeremy share a sparkle! It is a spirit that comes from within, and they both know they definitely do not need hair to shine!
Be kind. Peace out!
Lisa DeMarco is a columnist for Villages-News.com.