Talofa! Annmarie!

ANNMARIE RECEIVED HER MISSION CALL

For those who weren't able to "hangout" on Sunday, no worries, Karly and her video prolific friend, Hope, made a video of this memorable, sweet, wonderful day.  We're so pleased with Annmarie and her choice to serve a mission.  Samoa was not even on our radar but it just seems so perfect. I asked Jason, "Do you think your mom helped pick this mission for Annmarie?" He said that without a doubt she did.

Annmarie's mission call video

Ella's Alopecia

In January we discovered this bald spot on Ella's head.  It was pretty serious, and we were very nervous about it.  We found out it was Alopecia Areata. Giving it a name made it comprehensible, but we learned it's unpredictable. We don't know the cause, it has no cure, but we can treat it.

The dermatologists gave her a bunch of little steroid shots covering the area, about 1 cm apart.  It looked like she had little bug bites.  We went back every month for more shots and treated it at home with a topical liquid steroid each night. 

The hair began to grow back! It now looks like this:

The hair is only a few centimeters long, but hopefully growing steadily. We went back at the end of May and the doctors said she doesn't need anymore shots for now, and we'll just keep an eye on it.

We're so grateful this treatment worked! And we're thankful to you all for your prayers for Ella. We don't know if or how extensively it may come back.  But for now we're grateful for miracles and healing.  Plus, we know that no matter what her hair looks like, Ella will always be very beautiful!