WEBVTT - Alopecia Bonus Content w/ Kevin & Nichole Aldridge

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<v Speaker 1>What's up our t T fan? Check out this bonus clip.

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<v Speaker 1>Having alopecia can be hard on the whole family. Kevin

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<v Speaker 1>Aldridge recently wrote an article about his wife's battle with

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<v Speaker 1>the disease. My wife has alopecia. I've dried her tears,

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<v Speaker 1>affirmed her beauty and used only my words to support her.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's such beautiful words. Thank you, Kevin. Why is

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<v Speaker 1>it important for you to share your perspective? I think

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<v Speaker 1>because if you haven't been on this journey with someone

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<v Speaker 1>who's who's been through it, you don't know what it's like.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, people will say things like, Oh, it's just hair.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh it's just a joke. I think when you've walked

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<v Speaker 1>with somebody on that journey and you've seen the things

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<v Speaker 1>in the private moments that people don't see publicly, do

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<v Speaker 1>you understand that it's not just hair, it's not just

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<v Speaker 1>a joke. After the event with the oscars, I understood

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<v Speaker 1>the gut reaction of a husband and want to defend

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<v Speaker 1>in that moment. I think where I differentiate as I

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<v Speaker 1>understand that people need to be educated about the struggle

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<v Speaker 1>that people who have alopecia go through. So Nicole, what

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<v Speaker 1>is your journey. So I had alopecia um the first

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<v Speaker 1>time when I was sixteen years old. My hair came

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<v Speaker 1>out for about three or four years, and then it

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<v Speaker 1>started to grow back, and I didn't think anymore about alopecia.

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<v Speaker 1>We got married in two thousand seven, and on my

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<v Speaker 1>wedding day at the beautition, she noticed a spot and

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<v Speaker 1>that was the first time that I thought that it

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<v Speaker 1>was coming back. And it did. And I wore wigs

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<v Speaker 1>for a while, and they're itchy, they're hot. My head

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<v Speaker 1>is very small, and so the yes, they do right, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>And so it just got to me, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>did not want to wear the wigs. I thought maybe

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<v Speaker 1>I'll shave it. I talked to him about it, and

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<v Speaker 1>he was super supportive. Whatever it is that you want

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<v Speaker 1>to do, I'll do. I'll support you. That's what I've

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<v Speaker 1>always tried to do, just be a support for her

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<v Speaker 1>as her husband, to make her feel always accepted and affirmed,

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<v Speaker 1>and that I never looked at her any differently than

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<v Speaker 1>she was still the same beautiful woman that I'm married.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I shaved it. I decided to just go

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<v Speaker 1>all out, and he said, you go upstairs and you

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<v Speaker 1>cut it and I'll shave it off for you. Then

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<v Speaker 1>he gave me the barbershop treatment, and I had like

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<v Speaker 1>the the hot towel that he put on my head

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<v Speaker 1>and and he shaved it. At the time, I worked

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<v Speaker 1>at and inner city elementary school, so I was really

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<v Speaker 1>nervous about going to the school with the shaved head.

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<v Speaker 1>I went in. I did hear the kids, why did

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<v Speaker 1>miss Soldiers she cut her hair? Or look at her?

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't bad. I received a lot of hugs from

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<v Speaker 1>the staff and from the teachers, even from some of

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<v Speaker 1>the kids. Your journey reminds me of mine a bit.

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<v Speaker 1>It started falling out and I was trying to hold

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<v Speaker 1>on to it, and then I cut it, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>and then I was just like, funk it. All the

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<v Speaker 1>trying to manage it and I was just over it. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and even hiding it under the wigs. I'm like, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>doing all of this only to cover it up more.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not going to do it anymore. So I did

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<v Speaker 1>the steroid shots, going every month, getting thirty to forty

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<v Speaker 1>shots in my head with this little bit of hair growth,

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<v Speaker 1>and if I want to continue my hair growth, I

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<v Speaker 1>have to continue the shot. And I was like, no,

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<v Speaker 1>they gave me the stress ball, and so I'm just

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<v Speaker 1>squeezing on the stress ball while they poke all of

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<v Speaker 1>these holes into my scals. It does, it's these little,

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<v Speaker 1>tiny needles, and so it just wasn't worth it for

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<v Speaker 1>me anymore. Yeah, I'm with you that I was going

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<v Speaker 1>to say, you don't realize that the community is bigger

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<v Speaker 1>than you think it is. And a lot of times

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<v Speaker 1>when you're affected by something like this, you feel so

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<v Speaker 1>alone and you feel like it's only happening to you.

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<v Speaker 1>But there are a lot of people that she knew

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<v Speaker 1>who were suffering in silence. And I think if if

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<v Speaker 1>there's one thing that I hope comes out of this

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<v Speaker 1>and the attention that this has been getting over the

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<v Speaker 1>past few months, is that we'll see more communities form,

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<v Speaker 1>people feeling more comfortable about coming out and sharing their

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<v Speaker 1>stories and um feeling so not isolated, and maybe even

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<v Speaker 1>those of us who aren't impacted by will develop a

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<v Speaker 1>little more humanity, empathy, and sensitivity. We just don't know

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<v Speaker 1>what people are going through. You and my wife present

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<v Speaker 1>strong on the outside, but people don't see the internal

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<v Speaker 1>struggles that are going on, and so we all just

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<v Speaker 1>need to learn just to check ourselves for amatic Thank you,

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much for listening to this bonus content