A Filipino singer-songwriter battling alopecia areata, a hair disease, had the chance to meet Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as part of the social networking site’s 12th anniversary.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Abby Asistio shared a photo of her with Zuckerberg and her friend Rachel Regal, who shared her story to the Facebook team. Alopecia areata is an auto-immune hair loss condition.
Asistio said she met Regal, also an alopecia awareness advocate, through the Double A #AlopeciaAwareness campaign which she spearheaded in 2012 and they had been “connected ever since.”
READ: Young Filipina singer-songwriter holds her head high despite hair disease
“Last year, Facebook Stories featured how we were able to build a friendship, as well as campaign for disease awareness through Facebook! AND TODAY—We had the chance to tour their headquarters in Menlo Park, San Francisco, meet and chat with the people behind Facebook (Founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sanders, CPO Chris Cox, and a whole lot of awesome people), get crazy cool gadgets and have one of the most wonderful, amazing, unexpected experiences of our lives,” Asistio said in the caption of her post.
“Still dumbfounded. I swear, God makes the most beautiful surprises and plans the best adventures. Thank you, Lord. This has YOU written all over it,” she added.
Asistio was one of 20 people chosen by Facebook to meet its 31-year-old billionaire cofounder during its “Friends Day” event at the Facebook headquarters in California.
Last January, Zuckerberg called on Facebook users to share their tales “celebrating friendships that have made a difference” in their lives.
Asistio had been diagnosed with alopecia areata since she was 4 years old. YG/RC
