Motown Reporter Has Not Let Vitiligo Hold Him Back

WJBK Reporter Lee Thomas was told that he had vitiligo, but he vowed he would not let the condition hold him back from pursuing his dreams of being on TV.

Vitiligo is a disease that causes the loss of skin color in blotches. 

Thomas says when he was 25 when he first noticed his skin begin to change while having his haircut by a barber in Kentucky.

Originally assuming the barber had nicked him, Thomas eventually realized the light patch of skin on the back of his head.

Concerned, Thomas went to his mother - who assured him it was just stress.

But as the white spots became increasingly frequent, appearing on the bridge of his nose and on the corners of his mouth, Thomas sought medical attention.

“I knew something was wrong,” he said. 

For Thomas, the doctors' diagnosis initially felt like a death sentence to his career.

“He kept talking but I didn’t really hear much of anything else because I was in my head thinking my career was over. I was already thinking of what else I could do with my communications degree,” he remembers.

But rather than giving up on his dreams, Thomas turned to makeup to cover his skin and keep his appearance even - even hiding the diagnosis from his colleagues.

And despite the disease, his career continued to advance.

Now, Thomas is completely honest about his condition - as he can no longer hide the color of his hands.

However, that hasn’t stopped Thomas from masking his face in makeup before going on air.

According to Thomas, this is no longer out of embarrassment or shame. Rather, he does not want his condition to take away from the stories he covers - as he knows the condition can be distracting.

Being on air also gives him a platform to advocate for others suffering from vitiligo.

Now, as an international spokesperson for the disease, Thomas hopes to one day create an environment where the condition is normalized to the point he can give up the makeup routine altogether.

H/T The Independent

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