High school can be tough if you’re the least bit different. One father described his son’s issues with alopecia in which his 16-year-old’s hair falls out when he suffers stress which is often brought on by bullying. According to the dad, his son is “bullied mercilessly for it.” The boy had taken to wearing hats to cover up trouble spots to save himself from embarrassment. For his particular case, a painful treatment for the condition involving multiple injections into the scalp was necessary.
Not a situation for the Dad or his son to be in, to say the least! But the Dad thought he’d found the perfect solution which he called a “head tattoo” which is simply micro-pigmentation treatments that make the hair appear fuller. After the teen’s first treatment, he was pleased with the success and decided to attend class without a hat! Great news, right? Think again! An angry teacher wrote the dad an email berating him for taking his child to get tattooed. Now, the dad wants to know if he was right to cause a stink about it which ultimately resulted in the teacher’s firing.
Painful treatments, bullies, and empathy for his son motivated one dad to look for a solution to his son’s alopecia problem.
The dad took to Reddit to tell his story about his son’s issues with alopecia which he had been living with since he was in elementary school. His son’s doctor had prescribed “super painful” injections into the scalp which his son became “anxious” before getting. He decided to find a different answer.
“I came across micropigmentation, and suggested it to my son,” the dad explained in the post. “He agreed that this seemed like the best option, and so for his birthday, I managed to get an appointment set up under his doctor’s recommendation, which made it totally legal.”
According to Scalp Micro USA, micro-pigmentation is a “non-invasive treatment that uses detailed micro-needles to deposit pigment into the scalp.”
To get the micro-pigmentation, the dad had to drive into a larger city where the procedure was done. It turned out extremely well for the teen. “His confidence is just through the roof,” the dad explained of the success. “He’s no longer hiding under hats. He feels so confident with his new “hair”, and it’s just really great to see. I’m honestly so glad that we made the decision because now we can just move on from all of this. [It’s] a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders every day.”
While his son was pleased with micro-pigmentation, his son’s substitute teacher at his “strict Catholic school” had other ideas about it. How could you possibly be mad over a child’s medical procedure prescribed by their doctor? Where there’s a will, there’s a way, people!
After his son’s very first day back at school following the procedure, the dad received an email which he described in detail on Reddit:
“I got an angry email on Monday evening from a substitute teacher. She overheard my son explaining his procedure and felt compelled to tell me how this ‘mutilation’ is illegal and unacceptable. I tried to explain, but she refused, and continued to tear into me (and him) over this, going so far as to call me an ‘irresponsible father’ for allowing my son to get a ‘head tattoo.’ She called him a bad example, and said that in no way is this acceptable under school rules.”
The dad, as you’d expect, was outraged by the email from the teacher. So, he contacted the school, which is where he thinks he might have gone overboard.
“I contacted not just the principal, but also a friend of mine whose on the board and the head of school, and forwarded them the conversation (with highlights), along with my own very strongly worded letter, and other emails documenting the times that my son experienced bullying at that school, with minimum (if any) repercussion to those involved. I’ll admit I was angry, but I threatened to sue them for discrimination.”
We don’t know that a lawsuit is completely necessary here, but anger on a child’s behalf burns the hottest. However, the threat resulted in the teacher being fired by the school board. You’d think that would have ended the ordeal for good, but it turns out, the teacher wasn’t just any substitute, she had ties to some of the parents of other students at the school.
Parents reached out to the dad to express their frustrations with him for getting the teacher fired with his aggressive approach. “The parents who told me I was out of line are the ones who had the sub as their English teacher back in the day. They’ve said that’s just how she is, and they still see her as their teacher. It’s a really unhealthy dynamic, yes, but it exists.”
Okay, so what did the good people of Reddit have to say about all of this? The dad wanted to know, AITA?
“She was way out of line and the tattoo in question was a quality of life issue done with a doctor’s approval,” one person commented. “I would have done the same as you.”
“[Not the A**hole]she should have just minded her own business, shouldn’t she? It’s not like he has a tribal on his arm,” another added.
“Your son was bullied for a medical condition and they didn’t do [anything],” one person put it. “Then he gets something done and feels better about himself and that’s bad? WTF, I would even say it was a great thing you got them fired lMAO, it’s THEIR job to keep the kids safe, if they cannot do what they shouldn’t be in that place.”
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Many other comments, of the 1,000 plus of them, echo that sentiment. Reddit resoundingly decided that the dad was not the a**hole! So, what’s next for the dad?
“We are looking for him to switch schools,” the dad wrote about his plan for his son.
Time for a fresh start! A smart decision for a dad who was just trying to do the right thing for his son.
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