The diagnosis

The trip to Albany med was thankfully uneventful, once we got there Pat dropped me off to get checked in while he parked the car.

They took all if my information, assessed my condition and sent me out to the waiting room. Sitting and waiting for them to call my name I kept thinking to myself how ridiculous it was to be in an ER for Bleeding gums. I was wondering if they would question my sanity then send me home.

It was not too long before they called us back, I even got a room! I explained again to the nurse what was going on and then they left us again to wait on the Dr. As we were waiting on the Dr to arrive and speak to us I developed a new symptom. Blood blisters, it started out as one on my cheek and spread to a few different spots in my mouth. I reiterated my symptoms to the Dr and added in the new one. They were determined concerning.  

They got me all set up and checked my blood. The ever important platelet count.   Pat was so against them taking blood from me knowing my platelets were low, I had to calm him down when they left the room. Knowing where they were when I got tested Wednesday didn’t help me now, we need current information and they had other tests to run to figure out why they were so low. He still was not a fan but by the time they came and took (many vials) of my blood he was calmed down. Now we were left alone to relax.

Pat left a short time after I was hoping I may get out in the morning and wanted him as rested as possible.

It was not too long after they came back and I had the name of my new illness, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. ITP from here on out. My Immune system had cleared my system of all of my platelets. I had tested at 1k. Normal people have between 150 and 400, my adventures were just beginning.

I was being admitted to the hospital.

Leading up to a Diagnosis

A rash. Or a series of tiny bruises, that is what started my ITP journey.

The petechia started out on my lower legs. I figured maybe I had eaten something new and this was a reaction. They didn’t bother me in any way, no pain or itching. My search online was fruitless so I decided to keep an eye on the rash.  Even the large number of bruises on my legs and massive bruise on my inner thigh hadn’t even phased me at this point, it is all part of kickboxing, after 4 years I am pretty used to it.

I could have been smarter choosing a dress for Pat’s cousin’s wedding, it seemed like it would cover the bruise better than it actually did. At least it matched!

The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a great time, a few glasses of wine and a lot of family time. I always love weddings but when family members get married it is always extra special.

After all of the travel I was very much looking forward to getting a great workout. All of the calories at the wedding add up and I was ready to sweat some of it out. My arms were completely normal going into class. 2 hours later when I unwrapped them my hands were bruised and I had more spots on my arms and abdomen. It was time to worry.

I got into the Primary care Dr that Wednesday and they did blood work right away. They called me the next day to let me know that my platelets were low and that I was to “take it easy”. Running was out but I was considering still going on the hike I planned with friends that Saturday. They referred me to a hematologist and told me to go to the ER if I had any bleeding that went unresolved.

Friday night I had not heard from the hematologist that was supposed to get me in right away and I thought better of the hike as they could not tell me exactly where my numbers were (24 I found out after the fact).

I was ready for a uneventful night with Pat.

After eating dinner I brushed and flossed my teeth as normal, only this time my gums started bleeding. While this is strange it was certainly not worrisome. After playing on my phone for some time I went to check and realized that I was still bleeding. I tried a few things to see if I could get it to stop to no avail. After about 2 hours I told Pat we needed to go to the ER. Of all of the ridiculous things to go to the ER for, my gums were bleeding.

We packed a bag of essentials, a blanket, book, and coloring book and of course the much needed phone charger. And off we went thinking we would be home after a few hours.