NJ Towns Join Forces For ITP Walk/Run To Benefit Children And Adults With Bleeding Disorder

After several years of successfully organizing separate events, ITP patients Linda McGuirl (NJ ITP Support Group Facilitator) of Basking Ridge and Meredith Prescott of Livingston have combined efforts to create one great event to help raise awareness for the most common bleeding disorder unknown to most – immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). This dynamic duo, both diagnosed with ITP at age 21, yet decades apart met through their awareness initiatives in support of 
Platelet Disorder Support Association (PDSA).

Imagine being told that your child cannot play on the playground with other kids, ride a bike, participate in normal childhood activities or contact sports because a bump, cut, or impact to their head could lead to life-threatening bleeding. 
Now imagine trying to get emergency help for your bleeding child and being accused of abuse because your child is covered with bruises. As an adult, imagine waking up in the morning with a mouth full of blood blisters, heading off to 
work with a nosebleed that won’t stop for hours, or going to bed at night with a headache and fearing you’re having a brain haemorrhage and won’t wake up in the morning. This is life for someone suffering with the bleeding disorder ITP.

Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a condition in which the blood has a lower number of platelets than normal. Platelets are cells that help the blood clot. ITP is called an autoimmune disease since it is the result of the body's immune system 
attacking platelets as if they are foreign cells. A person with ITP is at a higher risk of bleeding. ITP is often accompanied by fatigue and sometimes depression and has a profound impact on a person’s quality of life.

ITP affects almost 10 times as many people as hemophilia, yet most people know nothing about it. This lack of public awareness leaves many ITP patients feeling isolated and alone, and is the main reason why there is so little support for 
research on ITP and the lack of advancement in treatment. ITP is a growing but little understood health problem that most people (including some medical professionals) have never heard of. It affects individuals of all ages, sexes, and ethnic origins. 

On Sunday, June 8th at The Livingston Oval, 30 Robert H Harp Drive, Livingston, NJ 07039 participants of all ages will gather for “Pump it Up for Platelets! ~ for a world free of ITP”, to raise awareness and essential funds for the Platelet 
Disorder Support Association (PDSA). PDSA, the premier ITP patient support organization, receives no federal funding and relies on membership, donations and fundraising to facilitate its mission. Registration/Check-in will begin at 12:00pm and the event start will begin at 12:30pm. To pre-register, or make a donation or for more information online, visit: http://pdsa.donorpages.com/PumpItUpNJ2014/