Who would have thought my entire life would change on a Tuesday in April of 2021? Navigating a pandemic is hard enough when you’re healthy, let alone when your world gets turned upside down by an ITP diagnosis. I had no idea that the malaise that I felt, the bone pain that was nagging me and bruises that would visit me, was in fact a platelet disorder that was soon to threaten my life. Every ounce of energy that I put out only made me sicker. My platelets were “half full” and they were quickly depleting. I was the little girl who strove to break glass ceilings. I was aiming to be everything that I ever dreamed of.Īt the age of 13, I won “Young Authors,” was writing frequent articles as the lad on the school newspaper, a leader of my school’s student body, star track athlete with an outstanding long jump and an amazing five-and-a-half-minute mile, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, and a straight-A student, running for graduation court and valedictorian of my graduating class. I told myself I could be anything I wanted to be and so I was striving to do so. My future was bright, and my ambitions were even brighter. When did I get ITP? I will never forget it … I was 13 years old and just about to blossom. But what about those who have no choice but to have a glass that is consistently half empty? This is how I look at my bleeding disorder, immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). You’ve likely heard the metaphor, “the glass is half empty/full.” How full is your glass? If you’re looking on the brighter side of life, it’s always half full. He called ahead to the hospital and sent me on my way. When he came back, he explained what platelets are, got my husband from the waiting room, and sent me down the hall where the hematologist was waiting to do a bone marrow extraction and start an IV. He had gone down the hall to check with a hematologist in the building. After discussing what was happening, he did a stat blood test and left me in the examining room to check on the results.Ī short time later, I heard him outside the door say, “Oh my God.” But he didn’t come right in, so I thought his remark had nothing to do with me. My first thought was that I was having a reaction to the drug, so I called my internist who got me in his office that afternoon. I was recovering from pneumonia and on antibiotics. On the morning of May 1, I woke up with red spots all over my arms and legs. Before that, I had a fairly normal life – I had been married to my husband Jim for over 40 years, raised two children, worked full time and exercised four days a week.
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