Living with a Disease That Causes More Emotional Pain Than Physical

What you need to know…

NSEA member Denise Armstrong has been living with a visible disease that has caused her emotional pain for nearly 30 years. Not only has she dealt with the symptoms and physical
changes this causes, but she has witnessed the pain students have endured.

This is Alopecia. According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, Alopecia Areata is a highly unpredictable, autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the
scalp and elsewhere on the body. It usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches. This common but very challenging and capricious disease affects approximately 2% of
the population overall, including more than 5 million people in the United States alone.

There are several types of Alopecia: Areata, Areata Totalis, and Areata Universalis. These various types have balding in common and have several factors that can cause it, but the most
common cause has been identified as heredity. However, there are other causes that have been identified such as stress, medications, Lupus, cancer medications, childbirth, etc.

“I got it at 19 after I had my child and I’ve been living with it for 25 years,” said Denise Armstrong, a Clark County transportation employee for more than 22 years. “It happens to
people of all ages. I have Areata Universalis which means I have no hair, no follicles; nothing (no hair) on my body.” This is why Armstrong made a motion at the NSEA D.A. (See
motion below.)

NBI 10
ARMSTRONG/STRAND PASSED
I move that all educational employees, staff and students utilize existing and pertinent communication vehicles and training sessions to educate NSEA members and students of the
schools regarding the effects of health conditions, such as Alopecia, Areata, Lupus, multi-chemical sensitivity, etc., in the workplace or school environments. We request an article that covers as many as possible of the health conditions described in this NBI from Nevada's Delegate Assembly.

“Because of all the pain that living with this disease causes, I have chosen to embark on this mission to educate the students, my fellow educators, parents, and the community,” added
Armstrong. “I had a painful experience that happened on my bus and that has motivated me to become an advocate and fight for my students.”

“My next effort is to push to identify a spokesperson to tour the country and educate. Our kids are being hurt; our kids are being wounded because they are being teased. People are being
taunted and bullied and parents don’t know how to cope with the illness,” she said. “We have parents who don’t know how to educate their children and deal with their kids. It’s very hard for
everyone and they need to be educated, both those living with the disease and those around it. We cannot afford another tragedy in our schools, and that’s exactly what can happen when
a hurt student seeks to get even or rid him or herself of a bully in school.”

There is a lot of information available on the Internet. Please visit www.naaf.org or Armstrong’s personal site www.beautifulasis.com. You can also contact Denise Armstrong directly at 702-822-0736. ••