b'WhenStellaPavlidesdevel-Unconditional Love. oped vitiligo, she was only 22 andhadjustgivenbirthtoherson,Greg. The cosmetologist with flaw-It Works lessskinsuddenlylookedlikeapatchwork quilt, as she describes it.Both Ways. Ivehadpeoplerefusetotakemoneyfromme,saidPavlides.They think what I have is conta-gious.Photograph by Brian Kalish AfterlearningtherewasnoText by Anna Cooke cure, and that between four and fivemillion people in the United Statesareafflictedwiththecondition,PavlidescontactedtheVitiligoFoundation.Shewantedtohelpfundresearchtofindacureforvitiligoandbecameafaithfuldonor. When the animal advocatediscoveredthatanimals,includingdogs, were being used for researchandtesting,shewasconflicted. Iwantedacureforvitiligo,butIwantedmorehumaneresearch.Sheaskedthepresidentofthefoundationtoconsidergoingthehumane route after discussing herconcernswiththenowlateDr.ThomasB.Fitzpatrick,Chairmanof the Department of DermatologyatHarvardMedicalSchoolandChief of the Dermatology Serviceat Bostons Mass General. She wasturned away.The Clearwater resident thentraveled to Gainesville to meet withWayne McCormack, associate pro-fessor of pathology and laboratorymedicineattheUniversityofFloridaCollegeofMedicine.McCormacktoldPavlidesthatifsheprovidedthefundingfortheresearch,hewouldusedonatedbloodandskinfrompeoplewithvitiligo, not animals.Vitiligo is a condition in which the skin loses melanin, the pigment thatAmerican Vitiligo Researchdetermines the color of skin, hair and eyes. If the cells that produce Foundation is a Humanemelanin die, depigmentation occurs, causing patches of white irregu- Charity, supporting finding alar shapes to appear on the skin. It usually starts as small areas of cure through alternatives topigment loss that become larger with time, striking any part of the animal testing.We Walk By Faith,body and anyone, regardless of race. The condition is not life-threat- Not By Sight.ening or contagious, but alters the life of the patient physically, limit- www.AVRF.orging sun exposure to avoid severe burning and blistering. It can alsohave an extremely emotional effect on the patient, especially children. Above: Stella Pavlides and Zack.28 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'