A year ago if you asked me about vitiligo I would have just dismissed it as “the condition that MJ had”. But fast forward to today and it’s now a part of our life. A year ago my youngest daughter, Morgan, started developing a few white spots. (Check out the post HERE) Within a matter of months those spots began to spread and before the end of the summer her knees, feet, elbows were completely white and several large spots on her face.
World Vitiligo Day is an annual day specially dedicated to people with vitiligo. Conceived by patients for patients, World Vitiligo Day is a truly global event that aims to increase awareness of vitiligo and raise funds needed for research and education.
The idea of a World Vitiligo Day was first put forward by Steve Haragadon, the founder of the Vitiligo Friends network from USA and then later developed and finalized by Ogo Maduewesi, a vitiligo patient who is the Founder and Executive Director of the Vitiligo Support and Awareness Foundation (VITSAF) in Nigeria. In early 2012, the VR Foundation has launched the 25June campaign and the dedicated website. Read full story on Wikipedia »
Over this last year I’ve done a lot of reasearch and discovered that there is so much that is unknown about vitiligo. We met with a dermatologist and he prescribed a cream which did absolutely nothing. And what was worse is that he was pretty nonchalant and didn’t really have any suggestions on how to even keep her skin protected. It wasn’t until I started to reach out to the vitiligo community did I get a better grasp of this condition.
I’ve been blessed to learn so much from others about how to help my daughter deal with her changes and how important it is to use sunscreen. I met Lorena of Just My Vitiligo on instagram and she’s been so nice at helping give me tips and encouragement for my daughter. I also came across this clip from the show “What Would You Do?”
What would you have done if you were there? The sad part about this video is that there are so many people who actually feel this way. I’ve even had people ask me if my daughter’s vitiligo is because she’s biracial…smh!
I’m just glad that Morgan is happy and healthy and that’s what we’ll be celebrating today!
I didn’t get a chance to read this the other day but took some time this morning and love it as much as I adore you!
I just watched the video and seriously have tears in my eyes. I hate that people are so ignorant. You can be curious, confused, even, but rude and mean makes me burn!
Thanks Andrea for always showing love as well! <3
It’s great that you’re able to find support and encouragement for your little one online. I wasn’t aware there was a day set aside to educate about vitiligo – thanks so much for sharing!
I think this year was the first World Vitiligo Day. So I was pretty excited to learn more about it beforehand. Thanks so much for your support as well!
Your daughter is a beautiful little girl. She should never let anyone make her feel different from that. This day of recognition should bring more awareness and consideration for the condition.
WWYD is a great show. It really renews hope for humanity by seeing strangers stand up for the women with Vitiligo.
Thank you so much Nikki! She’s getting better about learning to love her spots 🙂