sky diving?

Ok, my 23 year old son wants to tandem skydive with his siblings this summer. They are all getting together and want to do it(I am against them all, but they are adults). He asked the doctor about doing it and of course the Hemo told him not to since his normal counts are considered between 9000-30000. My son still feels he can do it but I explained to him I feel all that pressure while coming down to land is going to be detrimental to him and could cause fatal bleeding, at least that is my thoughts on it.

Dont you all agree?

Also, he feels he wants to go get another opinion and that he may not have ITP, but I told him that the blood tests dont lie, the hospital blood tests as well as the weekly doctor visits. I told him they ruled out everything else when first diagnosed and the only thing they see is his low platelts and therefore ITP.

A little denial going on and I think maybe friends telling him the same thing egging him to think he doesnt have ITP.

Any thoughts?

Thought:

If he wants to sky dive, he will need to get his counts up first to the level that the doctor feels is appropriate.

Good Evening!

I love extreme sports. Ultra's, triathlons, and extreme obstacle course racing. Triathlons and running are all that my Oncolgist will ok. I know I could just go and do them but I would rather be safe than sorry.

It is just life. "Lord give me the courage to change the things that I can and to accept those that I cannot."

Jeffrey

The doctor's recommendation seems to be very reasonable. Even the hard landing of normal sky diving seems like it would be very dangerous at very low counts. Maybe you can get your family on the same team to help keep him safe instead of some of them egging him on to take risks like that.
Erica

This in no way is comparable to sky diving, but I know when my boy traveled by plane at a very stable 50,000 we literally saw his platelets dump when the plane was going down for a landing. His head felt like it was going to explode, he got a horrible instant headache, and petichaie started popping everywhere. We checked him hours later and sure enough, he was at 3K. I would think skydiving would be MUCH worse. We were in air pressure controlled cabin even.

Can't say I blame your son for wanting to skydive. There is nothing even close to the experience.
What is your son taking to treat his ITP? I know I wouldn't want to jump if on high doses of Prednisone or Dex. You need to have a clear head while zooming toward the earth at 140mph.
Although with a tandem jump, the instructor that you are strapped to does most of the thinking for you. You just ride along....If everything goes right.

I honestly do not think that a dropzone will take him up if he is truthful about his condition. Most reputable places are sticky about things like that. I don't think just signing a waiver will cut it. Not to mention that most folks with ITP would end up with one heck of an array of bruises from the rig's straps when the canopy opens and then from the ride down.

I left the sport of skydiving long before I was diagnosed with ITP. It is a whole lot of excitement and fun. Nothing compares to freefall, to relative work in freefall or under canopy, or just relaxing in the air to watch the sun set in 60 seconds from 13,000 feet. But I left it for my wife's peace of mind, after she witnessed a fatal accident one weekend. Today I would want my platelet count in a somewhat safe range, but I'd mostly be concerned about not having a clear head due to ITP treatment.
Although ITP would be the last thing on my mind when jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.
.

My last counts were 53,000, so relatively high, MUCH higher than your son's, and my hematologist literally said, "Unless you're planning on going skydiving this weekend, we don't have to treat yet."

It does sound like your son is struggling with acceptance. I wish I had some words of wisdom to share, but the honest truth is that I have no idea what to say.