Siona’s first blog post

My parents first noticed the white spots on the corner of my twelve-year-old sister’s mouth and on her earlobe in the spring of 2017. As I was engulfed in the stress of preparing for sophomore finals and my AP Euro exam, I dismissed it as some temporary skin color loss. As the spots became more prominent, my parents decided to take her to a pediatrician to learn more about what they thought was the result of a malignant virus. Upon examining her, the pediatrician postulated that the spots resulted from skin dryness and would disappear after summer. However, the white areas started to grow over the next six weeks. My worried mom took her to a dermatologist, who, after studying the spots under an ultraviolet lamp, confirmed that my sister had vitiligo. This diagnosis was the start of a long and arduous journey for both my sister and me.