After This Student Gets Alopecia His Teacher Shaves His Head To Show Support

What would you do if you were in third grade and found out you were going to lose your hair? That’s exactly the question Dino Shuffield had to ask himself when he was diagnosed with alopecia.

Alopecia is an autoimmune condition that attacks hair cells at the follicles, killing them before they can grow. At an adult age this can feel heartbreaking, but not devastating. In third grade, you wouldn’t even be able to fathom what was happening to you.

Or why, for that matter.

Dino sure didn’t know how to handle it. His hair was thinning rapidly and he didn’t feel comfortable in his own skin.

As you can see, things weren’t going exactly as planned for the young child. Luckily for him, he had the best teacher in the world.

Ehren Steiner sat down with Dino one afternoon and talked with his confused student. He mentioned the possibility of Dino shaving his head. That Friday, Steiner told him that if he was brave enough to shave his head, he would do it too.

The idea to show full support to his young student was uplifting in ways Steiner never imagined. The next Monday Dino showed up to school with no hair on his head. When Steiner showed up, bald, Dino was in complete shock.

Telling his own story, Dino says, “My jaw dropped. I’m like , ‘He actually did it.’” Steiner knew fulfilling his promise and showing up to work bald was far more important than that his own vanity.

It would have been disastrous for Dino if Steiner showed up with his head full of hair. Nothing is more devastating to a young child than a broken promise. Instead, we get these smiles.

Explaining making one of the easiest decisions of his life, Steiner said, “it stinks sometimes to go through things on your own, and I think if you can have somebody to walk through things with, it makes life more enjoyable.”

Plus, now Steiner will always be known as the “greatest teacher ever” to at least one student. All teachers dream of is making of difference in the lives of their students. Steiner actually has.

Acts like Steiners are important to remind us that in tough times, good exists. His act also helps bring awareness to a growing condition in the United States that is not being given enough attention.

Dino can live a full life with alopecia, but just like any other condition, the more understood it is, the less stigma there will be around it when people find out why he lost his hair so young. People don’t always trust what they don’t understand. Now they can understand alopecia a little bit better.

This story leaves our hearts happy. It’s tough not to smile looking at Dino’s bright smile. Hopefully reading this story put you in a great mood. We want to share happiness. Turns out it’s infectious!