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Kids On The Move - Sarah Guenzburger
08/22/2010 - By Chad A. Safran
CONFIDENCE DEFINES HER
Sarah Guenzburger was in kindergarten when she and her parents noticed that her hair started thinning. Whenever she brushed her hair, Sarah noticed a great amount of it in the brush. Gradually her hair became even thinner. A trip to the doctor revealed that Sarah had alopecia areata, which is a hair loss condition that affects 0.1%-0.2% of humans, occurring in both males and females. For some people the hair loss is in patches. For Sarah, it was more dramatic. Her hair was gone from everywhere in a few months.
“My parents were more upset than I was,” says Sarah, a Holmdel High School senior. “I was still learning about the world. I didn’t realize it was abnormal and it didn’t strike me as outrageous. Doctor’s don’t know what causes it. It’s sort of a freak of nature thing.”
The Holmdel community has been very supportive of Sarah. When she first lost her hair, one of her teachers, with Sarah out of the room, explained the situation to the class. Sarah was very thankful for this. Occasionally some student in school would laugh and point, but that became the exception, rather than the rule.
At first it was not easy for Sarah to deal with her condition, especially when other people would ask about it. Strangers would often inquire if she was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer because of her bald scalp. “When it first happened, I would turn my head away, walk away, and not say anything. I was embarrassed by it then,” she says. “Not so now. I tell them what it is, and adults are usually sympathetic. I didn’t know how to deal with it in the past. I got more mature and don’t have a problem explaining it now.”
Unlike some people with alopecia, Sarah does nothing to mask her condition by wearing a wig or a hat all the time. “I never tried to convince people that I didn’t have it,” says Sarah. “I didn’t want to be like that. I have friends who have it who never tell people. My parents were always supportive of my choice. They are very proud of me; I don’t wear a wig and let people see who I am. Some of the other parents tell my parents that they wish their kids didn't wear wigs.”
Sarah does have to take some precautions. In the summer, she applies a large amount of sunscreen, especially so this year after spending much of her summer at a friend’s beach house in Seaside Park. During the winter, she may need to wear a hat to keep warm. However, other than that, Sarah continues to move forward in her life as any normal teenager does, including participating in gymnastics as a member of the Holmdel High School team and working this past summer at a bakery.
She does take one trip that not all teens make. For the last 12 years, Sarah and her family have attended the National Alopecia Areata Foundation’s annual conference. Each summer the four-day event hosts over 600 people from all over to share and discuss their stories. There are sessions for parents, young adults, women, men, and even a camp for kids, where they go on field trips. Sarah’s mother, Ellen, actually facilitates one of the sessions for parents with children in elementary and high school. “It’s great being with everyone that makes you feel included,” says Sarah, who also spends time as a teaching assistant for kindergarten and first graders at Monmouth Reformed Temple.
“It’s a lot of fun and I look forward to it every year.”
While alopecia may be part of her life, there is much more to Sarah than an initial glance tells you. “The first impression is 'that girl doesn’t have hair',” she says. “That doesn’t completely define who I am.”
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Cheesecake Factory
FAVORITE MUSICIANS
Usher and Lady GaGa
FAVORITE MOVIE
“There’s Something About Mary”
PET PEEVE
Liars
THREE PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
My mom, dad and brother
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