Just a few months ago 7-year-old Gianessa Wride had beautiful brown hair.

Christmas Eve jammies! I think they're excited?.?. #shopkins #pawpatrol

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But on January 1, 2017 her mom, Daniella Wride noticed something strange about her daughter's long locks.

"Gianessa had taken a shower. After her shower, I was helping her brush her hair" mother Daniella said. "I noticed that a lot of hair was coming out in the hairbrush so I began looking around her head. I found a bald patch on the back of her head the size of a quarter. I also noticed that around her temples it was beginning to thin."

Daniella didn't tell Gianessa, because she was afraid of scaring her daughter.

Since Daniella was a nurse, she had a few theories of what could have caused the hair loss, including stress, but her daughter lost her hair so rapidly Daniella wondered if the cause was alopecia. Due to demand, it took a month for Gianessa to go to her first doctor's consultation - by this time, she was completely bald.

"She has been diagnosed with alopecia areata. It is an auto-immune disease," Daniella wrote on Instagram after the appointment. She explained that the doctors thought Gianessa's body went overboard when trying to fight the stomach flu. Instead, her body ended up creating antibodies that attacked her hair.

I love Saturday mornings. #hooligans #family #saturdaymorning

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Daniella explained that at first Gianessa didn't quite understand what was happening to her.

"Like any 7-year-old, I think, she expected that it would just grow back because everybody has hair," her mom said, but Gianessa's hair will likely never grow back.

Freaking love these two! Happy Monday! #reachforthesky #fashionista #happymonday

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Her bald head doesn't distract from this young girl's beauty.

One of Gianessa's favorite days at school is "Crazy-Hair Day"

The year before she went bald, her crazy hair mimicked a unicorn.

Crazy Hair Day at school. She was beyond excited!

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This year, her mom pulled out all the stops to make Gianessa feel beautiful and glamorous. With a handful or more of scrapbook stickers, Daniella bejewelled Gianessa's head.

At school, Gianessa won first place. She hasn't let her lack of hair get in the way of being fashionable, bright and happy. She will occasionally do photoshoots with her dad.

With her bejewelled crazy hair day style, Gianessa and Daniella are getting a lot of attention from the media and that brings joy to their family.

As Daniella puts it, "This is beyond what any mom could hope for her daughter, for others to see her as I see her. My heart is so full."


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