First, I'm so glad to have found this forum! Thank you for having a resource available. Second, I'm brand new to this, hadn't even heard of vitiligo until Friday, so forgive me if I don't use the correct terms.
My daughter, age 5 (who happens to be African American, adopted by Caucasian parents) received a dx of vitiligo. She has two very small spots (2 cm maybe??) on her knees as well as a bit of change on her lip.These are both places she had injuries in the past. The doctor is giving us a cream to use on her knees (we ordered it and it will be in Monday) to see if repigmentation occurs after 3 months. I think it's Protopic.
I have a lot of questions, and feelings. Not even sure where to start. My primary thought relates to fear for her understanding of self and identity. We have done our best to instill a sense of pride, teaching her that her dark colored skin is beautiful, that she doesn't have to look like mom & dad, that she should be proud of who she is. Adoption, race identity, etc can lead to a variety of feelings for a child anyway. Combining this with a disease that takes away her beautiful skin color breaks my heart. I don't know what to say.
Then I wonder what we can do to help keep it from spreading, if anything, if there is any way to know how severe a case she may have, etc. I just don't want people to see her different because of this or for her to have anything but pride when it comes to her identity.
Advice, especially if anyone out there has an adopted child, a child of a different ethic background, etc, much appreciated.
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