My Name is:
Chistopher Allen…
…and this is my story.
“It all began in the fall of 2001. I just began my sophomore year at PV majoring in communications with a deep interest in music. I had dreams of hosting homecoming, bringing all types of music to the yard, and introducing other activities on campus because there wasn’t really anything going on at PV. At this time I had everything going for me. I would never miss class, I had a clothing line going, and participating in various talent shows. My condition’s name is Hidradenitis Suppurativa. I remember seeing the first sign of my condition with a bald spot; it resembled a bad hair-cut like the barber cut too close. My mother, being that she works for a hospital, took me to the doctor to get checked out. During the fall of 2001, I had been to the hospital over 50 times. The doctors finally diagnosed me having this rare scalp disease.
In order to get rid of the Hidradenitis Suppurativa, doctors wanted to do an overnight surgery. The surgery would have consisted of the removal of the first layer of my scalp. Although that may have relieved a lot of the pain I was going through, being the spiritual person that I am, I prayed to God knowing there was another way.
While I tried to complete the semester, I went through a lot of pain. I would get major headaches, my scalp would bleed, and I had to take medicine to keep the flair ups under control. This infection will not kill you, but causes some embarrassment. Now I have to wear a black skull cap so I don’t get the stares and people won’t think I’m bald; plus I can get away with it without looking ghetto.
I felt like things happen for a reason so I continued to go to class despite what I was going through. One morning I woke up to a cramp in my side. I didn’t think much of it, but I tried to get up and go to class and couldn’t walk. I limped all the way to class. Over two week’s time the cramp got worse and eventually I could not walk.
Against my better judgement, because school is my life, my mother took me out of school to focus on getting better in fall 2001. Eventually I had to completely withdraw from PV and in the spring of 2002 I enrolled in the University of Houston Downtown. Since I have my condition under control I will be back at PV in the Spring of 2006 as a business major. Due to my condition, my aspirations have changed to becoming a motivational speaker so I can tell people how to keep going; I feel like I can talk to anybody.
My purpose has become to tell people about what I have been through and to not judge people by how they look because you never know what their story may be. During this entire process I considered it as a big test, and this is just God’s plan for me. I truly believe that we all have a purpose.