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Kaleah
Hi I'm Leah and I have had vitiligo since I was three years old. My vitiligo first appeared on my left eye. To me having vitiligo is not that big a deal. All I know is vitiligo. A few years ago I was shy about wearing shorts and stuff. My mom was surfing the net and she found the AVRF. The AVRF helped me feel great about myself. Now I am this young girl playing every sport and wearing all the latest styles including shorts.
I am using this cream called catalase. It helps a lot. My face used to be 90% vitiligo and now it is only 10%. I don't like doing light treatments or wearing the cream because it makes me sticky. But I know it is helping me to gain my color back. My new doctor is the best. Dr. Karin Schallrueter. She lives in Germany.
A lot of people judge me from the outside. When they do that they don't want to play with me, but once they get to know me we become friends.
Everyone at my school knows all about vitiligo. They love seeing me in the AVRF calendars and I get a lot of support. My friend Grant said he wished he had vitilgo. I said, “yeah, you get to have fun but it is also very hard”. My other friend Sara said I was her role model. She says because I live life to the fullest and am not intimidated. I am blessed to have such good friends.
Last year I got to meet Whoopi Goldberg. I was so happy . Whoopi is one of my favorite actresses. She has helped me because she is dyslexic and had problems with dyslexia like I have with vitiligo.
I love to play soccer, basketball, track, softball, tennis, swim and play piano. I play clarinet in my school band. I also like to hang out with my friends or spend time with my family. I have the cutest dog named Kooper. He is a Doxie-Poo. My sister and I share our fire-belly newt named Spice. I have two birds Roy-boy and Puff. I love to play on the computer, but not as much as shooting hoops or working on my soccer moves. I have an older sister named Kiara. She is very interested in my vitiligo and supports me a lot. I also have a little cousin named CJ and he is always over our house. He annoys me but you gotta love him.
The first time I went to the AVRF seminar I was nervous. But, I met a lot of kids like myself. They inspired me to become a role model for other kids.
The AVRF has helped me so much and I am very happy we found them. I do believe that a cure will be found, but until that happens, I will continue to spread awareness so people will know what it is.
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