Life Changing

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Factual: Life Stories

Extraordinary stories of life's turning points.

Dr Sian Williams talks to people who have lived through extraordinary events that have reshaped their lives in the most unpredictable ways.

In this series Dr Sian Williams talks to people who have lived through extraordinary events that have set their lives on an entirely different course.

This podcast is all about the human experience, how people deal with obstacles that turn their lives upside down. The journeys are not always straightforward and there are often some remarkable discoveries along the way.

Would you like to appear on the podcast? Do you have an extraordinary story to tell? We'd love to hear from you: lifechanging@bbc.co.uk

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Life Changing: Vitiligo turned all of my brown skin white

Vitiligo turned all of my brown skin white

BBC Radio 4 - Life Changing, Vitiligo turned all of my brown skin white

Jane Garvey talks to Sheetal Surti about living with universal vitiligo.

Sheetal Surti is proud of her South Asian heritage but when vitiligo caused all of her brown skin to turn white, she tells Jane Garvey, it had a profound effect on her.

Sheetal Surti was born in to a British South Asian family in a small town in the East Midlands. Aged seven Sheetal noticed a white patch behind her ear. She didn’t think much of it but soon more patches appeared and started to spread. 

She was diagnosed with vitiligo – a skin condition where unpigmented patches appear on different parts of the body. And so the treatments began. Some were medically advised, some were recommended by friends. Most of them were unpleasant, one in particular was horribly painful. But most importantly, for Sheetal, they didn’t work.

It was a lot for a girl going through puberty to handle and Sheetal’s answer was to slap on a smile and ignore it. While she couldn’t cover her patches, she became a master of covering up her feelings. Because of her appearance some people would ask if she had leprosy or skin cancer, others would tell her that she’d never get married or have a family. 

By 22 all of her skin had turned white. She no longer resembled the rest of her family. People would look at her quizzically when she told them her Indian name. After a while she would explain by telling them she was born in the 70s and her parents had gone through a hippie phase. She’d never talk openly about her vitiligo.

Then, aged 35, Sheetal was watching a TV programme where people with vitiligo were talking about their condition. It was a turning point for her and the day she finally started to address her questions about belonging, her lost identity and the shame she’d buried for so many years.

If you would like more information on vitiligo please visit www.nhs.uk

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Vitiligo turned all of my brown skin white

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