Meet Caitlin

My name is Caitlin, I am 20 years old, and I was diagnosed with ITP at age 2. Since I’ve grown up with ITP from such a young age all I have ever known were constant blood draws, never ending nose bleeds, legs covered in bruises, and overnights on the hospital's pediatric hem/onc floor receiving many short lived treatments; it was always my “normal”. Being a kid it was always hard not being allowed to go to recess, sitting out of gym class, having to leave school for doctors appointments, having to stop being a cheerleader, and of course the dreaded “feet must not leave the ground rule” (ex. No climbing, no jumping, no being picked up, etc.). But after many years of this “normal” I went into remission when I was 10 years old and got to see a whole new normal. I was able to do everything I wasn’t able to do before and the trips to the hospital, the blood draws, the bruises, and bloody noses all started to fade away.

Jump to April 22, 2024 when my life took a huge turn. I was sitting in my 9:00 am class when I started to feel faint and decided to go to the bathroom to gather myself, but before I made it out the door I had passed out. I then went to the ER where tests came back with slight abnormalities but I was later discharged with “anxiety”. The next day I was taking a shower where I started to pass out again. I later went to a different ER where I was immediately admitted into the ICU which became my home for the next 9 days. During these 9 days I had continuous testing to try and figure out what was going on with my body and during the first couple days my hemoglobin dropped to 3. During my stay I had X-Rays, CT scans, lymph node biopsies, a bone marrow biopsy, 3 blood transfusions, and lots of blood work. After many long fear-filled days hearing only the worst from leukemia to lymphoma and plenty of other diseases filling the room I was diagnosed with Parvo B-19 which caused my body to go through hemolysis and for my ITP to come out of remission. My platelets dropped and were sitting around 20-30 when I was discharged from the hospital.

But after monitoring my platelets for a couple of weeks my platelets had dropped to 8 and I was placed on a high dose of steroids to try to increase my platelet count which helped a little bit but didn’t raise them above 40. My doctor and I then decided I would try Rituximab which was a weekly infusion for 4 weeks. While receiving Rituximab I got sick with an upper respiratory infection that turned into asthma/persistent cough. The Rituximab did not have an immediate effect on my platelet count but they stayed consistent around 30-60. While always being covered in bruises but monitoring my platelets monthly they are finally around the 80-100 range.

Being in and out of the hospital and since spending 9 days in the ICU, ITP has given me a goal to help others. Currently I am in my junior year of nursing school with a dream to be a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse and have the ability to help children who are in the same position as me. ITP continues to give me the blessing of empathy, compassion and resilience.

Interested in sharing your journey with ITP? Submit your ITP story here. (Full names and contact information will not be shared).