Finally a Name for it!

So for those of you who really know me and I mean KNOW me, you know I'm turning white.

Now I know many of you are going, "Umm what? You appear to be white to me!"
Yes, I'm quite the white girl. In fact, I do believe my skin cannot be any other shade besides white. But reality is I'm turning white-ter. Is that a word?

Anyway so about 3 years ago I started noticing white patches on my hands during the summer when my hands would tan a bit. I figured they were scars and didn't' think anything of it. Until one year my mom noticed it and was like, "You have that skin condition. You know the one Michael Jackson supposedly has."
Michael Jackson? Dude. I thought he just bleached his skin like everyone else.

So I didn't do any research on it or anything because I knew there wasn't anything I could about it because its just a skin condition. Nothing terrible, just no treatment for it.

Reading thru CNN one day I came across an article about a black man who was turning white (no not Michael) and has been for years. The skin condition he and I both have is called vitiligo.
Basically, what it is a disorder in which pigment-making cells are destroyed. White patches appear on different parts of the body, tissues in the mouth and nose, and the retina.
I'm currently showing the classic signs of Vitiligo. I have patches on my hands, my arm pits, my ankles and on my elbows.

So far it has been spreading rather then receding. Each summer I find a new patch. The ones in my arm pits are new, I didn't have those last year. Last summer though I thought was seeing some of the patches under my eyes. Which sort of scares me because I don't want to have raccoon eyes!

My goal will be to stay as un-tan as possible so as to not make my patches more pronounced. Plus, not having any pigment on my white patches they can burn easily in the sun. So now I have a really good excuse to not tan! I'm thinking if it ever gets really bad, I could try spray tanning again. It would be temporary but hey, its an option at least!

Why did I write this post?
I dunno.
I guess I wanted to warn you all if one day you see me and are like, "WHoa!" That could be years from now. I may not be officially w/out pigment until I'm in my 50's.
I guess I just wanted to share with you all in case you ever run into another person suffering from this condition.
When we were in Portland a gal working at Jamba Juice had it and she was black. It looked like she had freckles, white freckles, on her neck and face.
When you really think about this, this skin condition, vitiligo, robs people of self-confidence. Who wants to be stared at?
Not me. I remember being stared at in the Philippines because there I was the minority and it was different. You forget that not every where in the world are we as mixed up culturally as we are here in the US.

So click on the links I have posted throughout this entry to read more about this skin condition and read the article about the man who is turning white. He is on TV as an anchor man so imagine how hard it is for him to deal with this.