When Sam Linabury sat down in the barbershop during his junior year of high school, he had no idea he was in for more than just a haircut.

 The barber began cutting his hair, but paused for a moment. There was a small bald spot on the back of his head. Linabury didn’t think anything of it.

 But as the bald patch grew, Linabury, an undecided sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, went to a doctor. He was diagnosed with alopecia universalis, a medical condition that causes rapid loss of all hair.

 There is no standard treatment for alopecia universalis, which can occur at any age. Linabury started taking pills and using Rogaine and steroid injections to try to get the hair to grow back. Nothing worked.

 Within three months of his diagnosis, he lost all of the hair on his body — he even has to draw on his eyebrows every day.

 “I knew that when I was given the alopecia diagnosis, I knew the disease was going to be a part of me,” Linabury said.

 For his 18th birthday, Linabury decided to get a tattoo on his arm to recognize his struggle with the disease.

 The tattoo says “alopecia” in thick, black, gothic-like text. One of Linabury’s artistic friends, Mina, designed the tattoo for him.

 “I wear my disease every day, and I wear my tattoo every day,” Linabury said. “Every time I look at my tattoo, it is a reminder of how strong I am and how I can overcome anything.”

 One of the biggest challenges he faced with the disease was going back for his senior year of high school after he had shaved his head during the summer. Linabury said he was incredibly nervous to return to school looking so different.

 “I walked into school the first day, and everyone had my back,” he said. “Everyone was waiting for me — my twin sister especially was there for me.”

 Support from others helped to make Linabury’s diagnosis less daunting.

“When I was diagnosed, my family and friends offered to shave their heads with me,” Linabury said, laughing. “I said they didn’t have to do that.”

He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and plays on the Syracuse University club basketball team. Though his tattoo serves as a daily reminder of his disease, Linabury doesn’t let it define him.

He often reflects on a Lucius Annaeus Seneca quote: “I don’t consider myself bald, I’m just taller than my hair.”

Published on September 2, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Gigi: gantonel@syr.edu