# @thekachetlife on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDq3vIr1Rp
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/79406007-thekachetlife-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f507005bf3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-09-20T20:45:41.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Kachet Jackson Bell (@thekachetlife) — https://gondola.cc/thekachetlife

## Caption

When your break turns out to be more than you bargained for…

Hey y’all! I’m back-ish. A couple of weeks ago, I was diagnosed with ITP: Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a rare disorder where your immune system attacks platelets. It can show up out of nowhere or it can be a result of a few factors. Coincidently, it’s ITP Awareness Month, so I want to share my story. 

For me, my body alerted me with a bruise.

The bruise showed up right as I declared my break to recenter. Go figure. I thought I bumped into something.

Then another bruise showed up the next day. With freckle-like ones (petechiae) down my arms, legs + thighs the day after that. More showed up on my face. Then a blood blister in my mouth. After a week, I asked a friend if this had ever happened to her and showed her my body. Maybe it was a reaction of some sort. The answer was NO. I decided to go to urgent care. Given my family history of leukemia, I started to think the worst and froze. I noticed I had been more tired lately, but I chalked it up to needing rest after a mentally + emotionally challenging year.

Turns out I needed to rush to the hospital because my platelet level was critically low and I was at risk for internal/external bleeding out. Critically low is anything less than the zone of 140-400k platelets. When I was admitted, I had only 1k.

The treatment has been platelet transfusions + steroids and tapering off has been 😩. While I have my mental clarity, I couldn’t feel less like myself as I get these meds out of my system and as these bruises heal (I had 18 during my hospitalization). The best news is that I DO NOT have cancer. 🙏🏾 I have a follow up appointment and I pray that my platelets hang on! 

The break I planned for didn’t happen but this experience has given me a new lease on life, a deeper appreciation for my squad and a shift in my values. christianne_p + kshapape flew to Dallas to support me and Rudy without hesitation and for that I am eternally grateful.

My call to action for you is that if something doesn’t look/feel right with your body, PLEASE go get checked out. Don’t gaslight yourself and wait it out. ❤️ #itpawareness

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 0
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 371

## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

itpawareness

---
Copyright (c) Gondola