PHOENIX — An Arizona Cardinals cheerleader is opening up about a diagnosis she received just weeks before the biggest audition of her life. Ellie was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune skin disease that can lead to unpredictable hair loss.
“I’ve actually been a dancer since I was two years old," Ellie said.
Ellie moved to Arizona from Illinois when she was in high school. She joined the pom team and then went on to the University of Arizona, continuing her cheerleading career. She was preparing herself for the competitive and often cutthroat audition process of becoming an NFL cheerleader.
“Leading up to auditions, there are prep classes that a lot of the dancers in the community attend altogether," Ellie said.
But at the beginning of the year, not long before her audition with the Cardinals, she would get the diagnosis she was not prepared for.
“I obviously didn't anticipate for my hair to fall out as rapidly as it did, or to even lose all of it," Ellie said. “I felt my self-esteem lowering every day, and just knowing that I wasn't going to look like the other women that have made the team in the past, it was a really scary feeling."
Ellie faced adversity.
"I just felt so vulnerable. And I at one point in March decided that I wasn't going to try out," Ellie said.
But instead of giving up on her dream, the week before her audition, Ellie shaved what was left of her hair and she showed up.
“After many tears, I decided that I've worked so hard for this since I was literally two years old. My entire life. I've trained for this moment," Ellie said.
Ellie's training paid off. She made the team, a team that a few months later would trade for quarterback Josh Dobbs. Dobbs also has alopecia.
Last week, Ellie and Dobbs met for the first time. The two, together, shared their stories publicly in a video shared by the Cardinals. The video played on the jumbotron before Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys.
"Luckily, for most people, it isn't something that holds you back health-wise. It doesn't mean you're unhealthy. So don't let it hold you back from living your life the way you want to live your life," Ellie said. “The reason that I wanted to share my story is to hopefully have that impact on anyone dealing with alopecia."
That's already happening. Viviana Bataller is the 7-year-old daughter of a 12News producer. She's a dancer, too, and was diagnosed with alopecia when she was three.
“It's okay to look different than other people and just embrace who you are," Ellie said.
On the biggest stage, Ellie is doing so much more than dance.
“The hair on your head doesn't define you. What's inside is what defines you," Ellie said. "Don't let it hold you back from achieving what you want to achieve."
Ellie said she wears a wig on the sideline and her coach gave her the choice to do whatever she wants to do.
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