So this thing called ITP (Immune thrombocytopenic purpura) is a blood disorder in which the immune system destroys platelets, which are necessary for normal blood clotting. Persons with the disease have too few platelets in the blood. I got diagnosed when I was 8, 1 more month before my 9th b-day. I had just walked in from playing out in the trees and my mom looked at my legs and almost screamed,'WHAT DID YOU DO' to tell the truth nothing... You couldn't see my legs it was all purple,black,light green. She told me we were going to the Dr. Now being 8 I knew what this meant... Needles. I did punch a nurse and yes they held down my feet. After getting this non-hurting needle into my arm I figured nothing too bad like that would ever happen. I was dead wrong. The next morning right away my mom got a call that platelets were at 20,000 being normal is 150,000 to 400,000. This is when the the crying and hugging part comes and some ice cream to calm the nerves. I went to a hematologist who then wanted another blood test... I figured they might as well just tell me they're vampires already. After that we did the normal check-up heart rate,pulse,tempeture, Spongebob sticker ect. After that we had to go wait in the big waiting room. As I started looking around I noticed a lot of kids my age or younger with cancer. That didn't make me feel any better about being there at all! After waiting we got called to the dr. room she felt for my spleen which I pretty much burst out laughing from and then got told that I have ITP. After that we knew this was gonna be a lifetime adventure. Now I know what you're probably thinking,'I can't touch her she'll bruise,bruising+her=death.' Not technically I do bruise easily and yes I jump a lot whenever something comes at me but the only thing that can be deadly is my stomach or head getting hit. Having low platelets and bruising is eternally bleeding. Yes... call me eternally bleeder. I'vd been poked with a needle for who knows how many time I lost count at 289 when I was 15. But the scariest platelet count I EVER had was 15,000 I felt horrible! And worse yet I had to be put on this pill called,'Prednisone' more like the devil pill. It made you gain weight,it made you angry,sad,hyper. But it made my platelets rise in the 100,000's. Not being able to ride your bike,or be that goal-keeper on the soccer team was the bum of it all. But now that I'm older and use to it all, it's not so bad. I will have this forever but smiling and laughing and celebrating a good platelet count is probably the best thing that God could ever give a girl. I don't look at this as a hopeless life. I look at this as a treasured body that can get purple and black from a pillow. But it's a treasure that I will now be protected more from those who try to harm it.