One little girl’s battle to find confidence and a cure

Most little girls love to sport the latest hairstyle just like their friends. However, when nine-year-old Gabby Ruiz of Tampa, began to lose her hair, eyebrows, and even her eyelashes in the second grade, her family struggled to find an answer that could explain the sudden hair loss. Gabby’s hair loss took an emotional toll on her. Once a vivacious, bubbly young girl, she became much more reserved and did not want to leave her house. In fact, her family made the difficult decision to withdraw her from school after other children made fun of her puzzling condition.

After consulting with multiple doctors for years and seeing no significant results, Gabby’s mother, Emilia Ruiz, brought her to Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando, where she met Dr. Tace Rico, medical director of pediatric dermatology. Gabby was diagnosed with alopecia areata (AA), a disease in which the immune system attacks its own hair follicles and prevents any hair growth. AA is considered a rare disease, most commonly found in children, with less than 200,000 people affected in the United States.

Determined to bring back Gabby’s infectious smile and outgoing personality, Dr. Rico took action. “We started doing injections of cortisone so that we could get the medication exactly to where the inflammation was,” said Dr. Rico. Soon after initiating the injections, Gabby’s wish came true: her hair began to grow back.  In a little over a year, she went from suffering from 80 percent hair loss to a full head of beautiful, brown hair!

“She’s more outgoing and her hair looks great. Gabby is happy, and has much more confidence,” added Marcela Grubman, pediatric nurse practitioner at Florida Hospital for Children. Aside from her soft, flowing locks, Gabby acknowledges that she is once again wearing her big smile. “I feel so happy,” she said, “because no one’s making fun of me anymore.”

“It’s just been amazing to feel like I have my daughter back again,” said Emilia.  “There are no words to describe my appreciation.” For more information about AA, visit FlPediatricDermatology.com.