To help give back and support PDSA, I'm excited to be a part of the 8th annual "Pump It Up For Platelets 5K” ITP Awareness fundraiser taking place on Saturday, November 9th at William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine.

Please join my team “Cathy's Platelet Posse" and walk/run with us, or make a tax-deductible donation to my team on my behalf. Your support of me, and PDSA, means a lot. With your continued support, we can continue our raise awareness for ITP, and have another fun, successful 5K...

Cathy’s Journey - 2006 to present

I had been feeling exhausted for months, and knew it had to be more than just being a mom to my four busy children. Some days, I barely had the strength to get myself out of bed. I had always been very healthy, so I was shocked to be diagnosed with SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) and ITP, not just one, but two, autoimmune diseases. I still remember how scared I was...I had never heard of ITP, and now I had two diseases to deal with. (ITP causes a low platelet count; a normal count is around 150,000-450,000.) My days became filled with doctors appointments, labs, a bone marrow biopsy, treatments, infusion centers, and research. I've been hospitalized twice with platelet counts around 6,000, and have had many different treatments over the course of my ongoing journey...Rituxan, IVIg, Imuran, Dapsone, Prednisone, Cellcept, Myfortic, and Plaquenil. Unfortunately, none of these treatments have brought me the outcomes I’ve been hoping for. With platelet counts remaining below 50, I decided it was time for my body to take a break from these toxic drugs, and see if I could maintain these same levels on my own. I remain hopeful, and optimistic.

I have learned over the past 13 years, that I have to be an advocate for myself, to make sure I’m making the best, most educated decisions. I am so grateful to have met my co-hosts, Melissa, Leilani, and Kelly through PSDA, and I know that with your support, we can help spread awareness of ITP and PDSA.

We can all make a difference...

Be sure to check out The Journey page to read about our stories...

See you in November!