'I was sick of hiding away' - brave mum opens up about life with alopecia


Robyn Bridge developed alopecia when she was just two-years-old and has spent years hiding her hair loss with hats, hair loss systems and wigs.
But when her hair loss worsened again this year, the 27-year-old decided she no longer wanted to ‘hide away’.
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Hide AdRobyn, a former Baines Endowed Primary and Millfield High School pupil, said: “My alopecia is stress-related.


“I was sick of hiding away so I decided to shave my head,
“I cried for two days afterwards - but this is me and, for the first time in years, I feel at peace with who I am.
“Now I feel like I have taken control; I can be myself, I feel happy.”
Alopecia is an autoimmune condition that develops when a person’s immune system attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss.
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Robyn grew up in Blackpool before moving to Westhoughton, where she lives with partner Andrew Farrell and their sons three-year-old Sonny and one-year-old Albie.
She added: “When I was living in Blackpool I was very sociable. When my hair loss got bad, I cut everyone off.
“Decent wigs are anything above £500 and now I have two young children I just can’t justify spending so much money on myself.”
Now two of Robyn’s friends, Kayleigh Tomlinson, from Thornton, and Danny Gough, from Fleetwood, have pledged to do a skydive this week to raise money for Robyn to be able to buy a wig.
To date they have raised more than £1,000.
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Hide AdDanny said: “Robyn always goes above and beyond for everybody; it’s about time something was done for her.
“Wigs don’t come cheap and imagine being a young mum and having your confidence taken away by getting this horrible disease.”
Robyn, who is due to start as a healthcare assistant at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital next month, added: “They’ve covered the cost of the dive themselves, so all money raised goes
towards a wig. I was so emotional when my beautiful friends told me what they were doing.”
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Hide AdSeptember marks Alopecia Awareness Month – and Robyn hopes she can raise awareness by speaking out about her condition.
She added: “Alopecia isn’t spoken about.
“People look at me and think I’m terminally ill because there isn’t much awareness. I want to raise awareness.
“I try to concentrate on the person I am inside rather than what I see in the mirror.”
To donate, search Skydive for Robyn on www.gofundme.com/
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