Baseball team, Mother McAuley, recently held its third “Battle to Strike Out Alopecia” match. In honour of senior pitcher, Holly Marousek, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2014, the match aimed to increase awareness of the devastating hair loss condition.
While Marousek started out wearing wigs to her games, over time her confidence has increased and she’s now happy to play without it.
Letting girls know it will be ok
The main message Marousek is hoping to get out there, is that alopecia areata doesn’t need to have a negative impact on your quality of life. She hopes that little girls who see her play will be inspired and realise the condition isn’t anything they need to hide from.
Her confidence has shone due to the support she’s received from her teammates, friends, classmates and family. She admits it is still difficult to deal with, but she is starting to come to terms with the condition and is focusing on helping others deal with it too.
Understanding alopecia areata
Thanks to increased awareness, many people have now heard and have more understanding of Alopecia Areata. However, there’s still a lot people don’t know. For example, did you know there are different types of the condition?
Marousek has the rarest and most serious type, alopecia universalis, which causes all of the hair on the body, not just the scalp, to fall out.
Of course, alopecia areata doesn’t just affect women. A lot of spotlight does get placed onto women with the condition, but many men also suffer. There isn’t a lot of information out there for men suffering from alopecia areata so more does need to be done to increase awareness for men suffering from it too.
Overall, Marousek’s courage and determination to beat Alopecia Areata and raise awareness of the condition is inspiring. While there isn’t currently a cure available, there are treatments which can help lessen the symptoms and cover up the condition.
