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BEAUTIFULLY DIFFERENT: Meet the LaRue twins

by MyParisTexas
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Identical twins, Nolan and Noah LaRue, are just like any other 13-year old boys. They love video games and archery and are in the marching band at Chisum. However, there is one thing that does set them apart from everyone else…they have no hair. 

The LaRue twins have Alopecia; an autoimmune disorder that attacks hair follicles, causing baldness.

“There are different types of Alopecia and my boys have what is known as Alopecia Universalis, or full-body Alopecia,” said Kristin LaRue, “being identical and having Alopecia is very rare.”  

The National Alopecia Areata Foundations says nearly 150 million people worldwide have some form of alopecia areata. And, about 1 in 4,000 people in the world have Alopecia Universalis. 

Whilst the twin were born prematurely at 34-weeks gestation, Nolan and Noah were born with full heads of blonde hair. 

For the first few years, life was as normal as it could be for the LaRue family with no signs of any hair loss. 

However, when the twins turned three-years-old, Kristin started to notice thinning patches of hair and took them to visit their pediatrician. 

“Their doctor informed us that it was just a bad haircut and that it would grow back,” said Kristin. 

By the time the boys were four, Kristin knew it was something more serious as they had both lost their eyebrows and eyelashes. 

“In Kindergarten, Noah went completely bald and by first grade, Nolan had joined him,” said Kristin, “the twins have been bald for most of their lives.” 

Currently, Noah is experiencing more hair growth than he ever has and Kristin says he is adamant about not trimming it. 

“Nolan has a bit of hair growth too but he prefers to keep what hair he has trimmed down at the scalp,” said Kristin, “he loves his head bald.” 

While there are temporary fixes for Alopecia, like injections into the scalp, there are no cures. 

“Early on, we decided as a family, to wait until the twins let us know that they wanted the injections, before ever putting them through all of that, as it looks and sounds extremely painful.” 

But, the twins have never asked to have the injections. 

“They have shown interest in the tattoos that people are getting on their scalps which is very subtle but real looking, however, that’s something we would address later on.”

The family said they were also recently approached by a drug company wanting the twins to try a new medication that would promote hair growth, however, after learning that it would weaken their immune systems, the family said no. 

And, while dealing with the disorder and all the side effects are hard enough, Kristin said life with Alopecians has been a bit “strange”. 

“Complete strangers have walked up to our children, laid hands on them, and prayed for their ‘cancer’ to go away,” said Kristin, “a couple of times, we would go to pay our tab at whatever restaurant we were eating at, and someone would have already paid for it, leaving kind notes behind.” 

People have also sent messages to the family on social media wanting to help “fix” the twins and strangers will approach them asking questions.

But Kristin doesn’t mind when people ask questions as it is a way to bring awareness to the disorder and for people to learn about Alopecia. 

One thing the family is grateful for is that the twins don’t have to face Alopecia alone; they have each other. 

“Most Alopecians have to face it alone,” said Kristin, “but Nolan and Noah don’t have to. They have a built-in best friend that knows what the other is dealing with and how to get through it.” 

But, for the most part, the twins have received a lot of encouragement from strangers; encouragement in building their confidence rather than growing their hair. 

“They learned early on that there is beauty in being different than others, and there is power in being unique,” said Kristin, “it’s okay not to look and be like everyone else.” 

To learn more about Alopecia, visit www.naaf.org 

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