Meredith Prescott has written 

a letter I think we can all 

relate to. We have all felt 

her anger, frustration and 

determination in dealing with

our mutual foe....ITP

Take a look at what she has 

to say


An Open Letter to ITP:

Dear ITP,

         When diagnosed with you 17 months ago at just 21 years old, I had no idea what was ahead of me.  I had no idea what you were capable of.  Truth be told, I never knew you even existed.  

         When I found out you were a rare blood disorder that destroyed my platelets, the cells that clot my blood, I was angry.  I wanted to destroy you.  I didn’t get how you could appear out of nowhere and why you targeted me.  You made me look fine on the outside but not on the inside. How could you be so fake?

         I began to learn with much research and doctor’s visits that there is no rhyme or reason why I got you.  You are not genetic and you can strike at any age.  You can last forever or you can go away any day.  I guess you just really are that unpredictable.

            It was like that time you had me fooled.  It was the first few weeks of you and I, and I was doing really well on a horrid drug called prednisone.  After all the cruel side effects, I was told it was worth it because it was raising my counts and that It would be over when I finished it. But then you hit full force and my platelets crashed.  You caused hours of infusions, fevers, blood draws and hospital stays. You have always been so painful and deceiving.

                  Sometimes you’re pretty scary.  You make me fear each and every time I see a bruise that I may be internally bleeding.  You’ve make me weigh the options of surgery and chemo.  You make me realize that there’s a chance I will undergo a splenectomy in the near future. You make me scared when my counts are low that I will have a brain hemorrhage and not wake up in the morning.

         You put tears in my eyes when I hear about those who have lost their battle. You have put a burden on my family and friends that should never have been placed.  You’ve destroyed children’s childhoods and made them grow up way faster then they ever should have. You’ve taken lives from beautiful people. You should NEVER exist.

         So ITP- you’ve made everything in my life 100 times harder then it ever should be.  You made me leave University of Maryland, my final semester in college.  You made me miss out what could’ve been some of the best days of my life. You make doctors draw countless viles of blood with painful needles each and every week.  You’ve made me wait endless hours at doctor’s offices shaking with the anticipation to hear my platelet count. You have made me try toxic treatments I wish I never had to. You have made me so exhausted even when I should be energetic. You make me live in the unknown.      

         But ITP, I personally must thank you.  You make me live my life with absolutely no regrets. If I didn’t live my life to the fullest from the beginning, I sure as hell do now.  You make me motivated to achieve things I never thought I was capable of. You have taught me things in my life that have made me wise beyond my years, that I only wish I could instill in others.  You let me experience my first heartbreak, which was you.  You have made me want to help anyone and everyone I can that has you.  You have opened the door to friendships I have with those who have you, which I cherish because they are some of the most unbelievable people I have ever known.

I am planning a second fundraiser this June with other fighters to rid you of this world, because no one should ever have to endure you. You are that destructive.

I know I can’t say goodbye to you yet, but you have made me so strong that I know I will beat you. You’ll just have to wait and see.

        

Love,

Your fighter

Meredith has organized her second annual 5K run/walk in

association with PDSA to raise money for ITP research. 

Sunday, June 8, 2014

The Livingston Oval ~ 30 Robert H Harp Drive ~ Livingston, NJ

12:00pm - 3:00pm

I know many of you are not in the Livingston NJ area but 

you can still show your support and follow her progress by 

clicking this link:

http://pdsa.donorpages.com/PumpItUpNJ2014/MeredithPrescott/

Meredith's goal is to raise $20,000 and she's already got 

pledges for over $5000!!! 

You can also participate in her Facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/261358180703865/

Let's show Meredith our appreciation by supporting her 5K Run/Walk. Go for it, girl!!!!!