How can I get my curly hair texture back?

When I was young, I had the long, curly tropical Afro-American hair style an texture, my hair would be thick an curly an I could braid it, dread it, almost anything an it was soft. Unfortunately, I contracted chicken pox, a very bad case, so bad that my mom had to shave my head cuz they were everywhere, all over my body. My mother has always told me that my hair will never return to that texture or style. Is this true? I really want it back but I was wondering if anyone knew if my hair really would go back to that if I let it grow out or not. I am biracial, African American and Caucasian.