Loyola soccer captain's battle with alopecia inspires teammates
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Loyola women's soccer team is looking to make some noise in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season.
CBS 2's Jori Parys had the story of one player who is inspiring others every time she takes the pitch.
Loyola defender Alaina Abel didn't play in the spring while rehabbing a torn PCL, but that wasn't the only adversity she faced. The senior is excited to be back on the field while making an impact off of it.
Abel was voted a captain by her own teammates for several reasons.
"She's a leader, first of all," said sophomore defender Ava Bryan. "Second of all, she's probably one of the most athletic players I've ever played with. I think that her mentality and how she approaches life really shows through her game."
But life with an autoimmune disease hasn't always been easy for Abel.
"I've had alopecia since middle school but never significantly lost hair until this past year when I was injured," Abel said. "There was a lot going on and then once I kind of came to terms that it wasn't going to grow back after treatment and stuff, I decided that I wanted to use my story to make a difference."
So Abel began fundraising for "Wigs for Kids," a nonprofit that strives to help children suffering from hair loss, and aid in their self-esteem.
"I raised a lot of money for the organization and bought, I think, over three wigs for three kids, so that was pretty cool," Abel said.
The effort helped lift a financial burden from Abel when she found herself in need.
"This spring, she came and said, 'It's getting bad. It's probably going to get to a point where I may shave my head, and I want to tell the team,'" said Loyola head coach Barry Bimbi.
Abel said one day, Bryan presented her with a card.
"I was like, 'Oh this is really sweet,'" Abel said. "They know I'm shaving my head this week. I thought it was just a card. I opened it, and it was a GoFundMe to fund my wig. Sure enough, that day, my mom and I were able to go find a wig and purchase it that day. It all came full circle."
Bimbi added, "It brings tears to your eyes. You always think of them as soccer players first, students and then people and it puts the people part of it first."
He said Abel has been "such a leader for the girls on this team that they had to rally around her."
Abel continues to be an inspiration for her work both on and off the field. This season, the Ramblers will highlight that effort during one of their home games.
"We're doing an alopecia awareness game this year, which is really exciting," Abel said. "So we'll hopefully continue to raise money and give back."
Teammates said Abel also gives so much to them with her positivity.
"Alaina is probably one of the strongest people that I know and obviously, she is such a big figure for this team," Bryan said. "Just having her team every day showing up again, the strength in vulnerability aspect we're talking about, it goes a long way."
Abel added, "Maybe this is not how I thought my senior season would look like or things like that, but I'm healthy. I'm able to play soccer with my best friends, so like being really grateful for the things I do have in my life and not focusing on the negative things."
Now, Abel is focusing on building off a season where she was voted Second-Team All- Atlantic 10 in the Ramblers' first season in the conference.
The team's alopecia awareness game is scheduled for Sept. 3.
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