Every day for about a year, I was so exhausted and I didn't understand why. It was my sophomore year of college, and I would take naps twice a day between classes and still sleep at least 10 hours every night. College was hard work, but I knew this was beyond the normal academic fatigue. During the end of spring semester, I started noticing that I would bruise easily. Bruises appeared on strange places like my fingers and eyelids.

For me, ITP has been a journey of spots. Seven years ago, it started with petechiae. The little red spots showed up, and they spread. Down to my feet, up above my knees, they became more noticeable. Then the bleeding started. Pretty soon, I was in the ER of Valley Children’s Hospital, hooked up to an IV, actively bleeding, with only 3,000 platelets of the normal 300,000 count. That was the start of my journey with ITP.

I remember the day as if it was yesterday. It was a sunny morning in early July, and I was heading to the clinic for a routine blood test. Hypothyroidism had been part of my life for years, and when I was younger, I was diagnosed with a frontal lobe angioma which caused developmental problems when I was growing up. So, I was no stranger to these appointments or seeing doctors. My pediatrician suggested a full blood panel since I was about to move to Hawaii for college. I thought nothing of it. Just another check-up.

I have had ITP for close to 49 years. When I was 12, I had gone swimming one summer day.

My ITP story began after contracting glandular fever. Before that I was fit and healthy and was rarely unwell.

My name is Hartley. I am 5 years old and have been living with ITP for over a year. It was really hard to get a diagnosis. When we told my pediatrician about my frequent nose bleeds and bruising, we were told it was normal. It wasn’t until a 4-hour nosebleed landed me in the ER that it was noticed that I had low platelets, and after multiple months of testing, it was determined that I have chronic ITP.

My name is Tamara. In 2002, I was diagnosed with ITP. At that time, I didn’t understand why my body decided to become a “battlefield” and why it would want to attack my platelets. The Department of Hematology and Oncology became my second home.

It was May 2020...three months from my 46th birthday. I went to see my doctor, who was a family friend, to get a lipid panel done, as I had been diagnosed with high cholesterol while serving in the Navy as a Naval Flight Officer. The doctor decided to do a complete blood count as well as the lipid panel to get a better idea of my overall health and any hidden underlying conditions, since I was a relatively new patient of his.

I was first diagnosed with ITP when I was 13 years old. I was performing a cheerleading routine at a basketball game, when my stunt group dropped me to the floor. My elbow immediately turned blue and started to swell. Thinking it was broken, my parents rushed me to the ER and that is when the medical staff recognized that my platelet count was dangerously low. The only thing I can recall is that the doctors kept saying, "Thank goodness she wasn't dropped on her head!" I only had three IV treatments and labs for six months, and then I was gratefully in remission.

In early November of 2007, Emma Alyse was like every other happy and healthy 3-year-old preschooler! However, the weeks that followed changed the course of her formative years, which brings us here. Emma had enjoyed trick or treating for Halloween with her two sisters, Carlee and Megan, the week prior. Shortly after, she developed cold symptoms which were treated with over the counter (OTC) medications and home remedies including some chicken noodle soup! The following week, Emma developed a large hematoma on the inside of her knee which prompted an evaluation from her pediatrician. After further evaluation and lab work, we were told that our Emma Alyse needed to be emergently admitted to Payton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis after her lab work revealed a platelet count of 2,000.