We are very excited to be apart of the Chicago PDSA ITP Pump It Up for Platelet Walk!

September 15, 2018

Registration begins: 8:30am
Walk begins: 10:00am
Advance Registration: $20 Adults / $10 Children

 Half Day Forest Preserve - Shelter C
24255 N Hwy 21
Vernon Hills, IL 60060

Please come join our team or donate here on our team page and help raise ITP Awareness! 

Mira has had ITP for 7 years.  Mira first experienced the bruising, bleeding, and petechiae in May of 2011 being admitted to the ER with 3,000 platelets.  Mira has dropped as low at 800 and has had to be admitted to the ER July of 2013 and April 2017 due to ITP.  With God's grace, Mira has been blessed with great family, friends, doctors/wellness personnel, and information from the PDSA.org website (and local Chicago ITP Group) to help her with her ITP journey.

To learn more about ITP please read below or go to the PDSA.org website.  Also please read the other teams bios that are walking and about their personal journey dealing with ITP.

Thank you so much for your support!!!

What is ITP?

ITP - Immune Thrombocytopenia, is an autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases, the body mounts an immune attack toward one or more seemingly normal organ systems. In ITP, platelets are the target. They are marked as foreign by the immune system and eliminated in the spleen and sometimes, the liver. In addition to increased platelet destruction, some people with ITP also have impaired platelet production.

People with ITP often have bruises or small purple spots on their skin (petechiae) where their blood has escaped from their veins or capillaries. Spontaneous bleeding can also occur in the mucus membranes on the inside of the mouth or in the gastrointestinal tract. It is possible, with a decreased number of platelets, to have a spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage. ITP is often accompanied by fatigue and sometimes depression.

Petechiae on an armNormal platelet counts range from 150,000 to 400,000 per microliter of blood. People with platelet counts under 10,000 have a severe case of ITP. 30,000 is sufficient for many to prevent a catastrophic bleed. Individual reactions to low platelet counts differ. Determining a safe platelet count is a decision to be made in consultation with an experienced treating physician.

It is difficult to determine how many adults have ITP, so estimates vary. One study reports that the incidence of adult ITP (how many people get diagnosed each year) is from 1.6 4 to 6.6 5 per 100,000. The prevalence (how many adults have ITP at any time) is approximately 9.5 cases per 100,000. More women than men have the disease in the 30 to 60 age group. In other age groups, about the same number of men and women are diagnosed with ITP. About 4.3 to 5.3 per 100,000 children are diagnosed with ITP each year. Since children with ITP usually recover, the number of children who have ITP at any one time is about equal to those diagnosed annually.

While most cases of ITP are controlled, it can be fatal in a small percentage of ITP patients.

Find out more detailed information about ITP at the Platelet Disorder Support Association website (PDSA.ORG)