Barrie woman lost all her hair in a week at age 7, but found a way to connect with others suffering from autoimmune disease
Dawn Nuff loves being a redhead. She can also pull off being a blonde or a brunette. She also rocks her bald head.
The 41-year-old Barrie native lost all her hair in a week when she was seven years old and has been hairless for the past 34 years.
“It never came back,” Knuff says. Barry today.
She was diagnosed with alopecia universalis, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss all over the body, including eyebrows and eyelashes.
She admits that growing up with alopecia was tough.
“I lived in a dependent family with a single parent and didn’t have much money to buy a wig, so I only wore bandanas from the age of 7 until I was 35,” Knuff says. I got teased a lot just because I looked different.”
Knaf first came up with the idea of wearing a wig while looking for a way to escape during the pandemic.
“I wanted to go shopping, but nowhere was open. The wig department was open because it’s considered medical, and I bought a wig for the first time,” she says.
Knaf, a mother of triplets, said it took some time for the whole family to get used to the idea of her children, who were eight years old at the time, coming home wearing wigs for the first time.
“It was like a whole new adventure for the kids to see their mom, who at home only knew her with no head covering or a bandana, have hair. It was such a big change. did.”
Knaf is an advocate of both wearing wigs and not wearing wigs, posting photos of herself in wigs. Social media both.
“I’ve done some modeling work, and I always say, let’s take some pictures with the wig and some pictures without the wig. I get a lot of support…and the wigs… “I’m very open to either direction because I’ve lived for so long without wearing one,” she says. “My son wasn’t even upset. He was like, ‘Either way, you’re still my mom.’
“My husband loves it because one day I can be a redhead and another day I can be a brunette. I have to enjoy it.”
Knuff added that the change wasn’t just about her appearance, but the wig also led to many other firsts, including buying a hairbrush and learning how to use bobby pins.
“Before I bought it, my daughters were like, ‘Mommy won’t even come near me.’ If I had a girl with no hair, I would just comb her hair, and it was painful for them. But I never felt that way.” I just brushed it and didn’t know anything about it. ”
Knuff, who has lived with alopecia for most of her life, says she has always been a passionate advocate for helping others living with alopecia and has been involved with the Alopecia Areata Foundation of Canada.Kanaf) since its inception and previously served on the Board of Directors.
This registered charity is led by volunteers with personal experience of alopecia areata, and provides a support network for families living with alopecia areata, raises research funds, provides education and supports autoimmune diseases. The purpose is to promote awareness of
“I was so focused on the baby that I felt like I was starting to re-educate myself. I looked around to see what kind of support was out there for people with alopecia, but there wasn’t much. Then… When I learned that CANAAF was being formed, I joined the board at the grassroots level,” says Knaf.
Although her busy schedule has forced her to step away from the board as her three children grow older, Knuff continues to be an advocate for all people and their families dealing with alopecia. We have been involved for many years.
“I live in Barrie, I’ve worked in Simcoe County for 18 years, I’m a social worker, so supporting, getting to know people and listening to their stories comes naturally to me. “I thought it was the best way to connect and support people affected by hair loss,” she says.
Despite affecting many people around the world, alopecia remains largely misunderstood and ignored.
“If you’re in the community and you’re wearing a bandana or nothing at all, you’re not contagious and you’re not sick. Many people are immediately concerned that you might have cancer. I say, ‘No, it’s alopecia,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, okay then,'” she says.
According to Knuff, autoimmune diseases have a different course for everyone, and they affect your life just like people dealing with other types of medical problems.
“It affects your self-esteem. Yes,[I may]look like I’m okay and don’t have a lot of medical issues, but it still affects me every day,” she says. Masu.
Knuff says her involvement in the creation of CANAAF has had a positive impact on her own life, and it gives hope to the lives of others as well.
“The support system that CANAAF provides parents of children with hair loss allows them to connect. Because there was no support or program, my mother had no access to other parents dealing with this issue. I couldn’t do it,” she says.
“Even for kids, it’s great to see other kids who look like them… to have a connection and a support system.”
