Personal Narrative: Blood Disorder

At the age of 18 months I survived a bleed to the brain as well as a breakdown in my immune system ; I’m currently medicated for ITP which is a blood disorder , causing me to be more susceptible to infection , as my body does not have the capacity to fight infection. This is due to a low platelet count. At three years old I had to have a major operation (a splectomy) which increased my platelet count and allows my immune system to fight infection. At the time of my operation I was not aware of the seriousness of my situation but I can remember feeling a bit scared and unsettled being in a ward full of strange people.

Since the age of 18 months I have had numerous hospital stays and operations, throughout these various hospital admissions my parents and my extended family have supported me in coping with this medical condition. They visited me, provided entertainment and thus distracted me from hospital surroundings. As I was so young (18 months) the impact of me being so ill was more devastating for my family as they had to cope with seeing me in a life threatening condition.
When I think back to picking at the scar tissue part of me feels slightly disgusted as I would never do that now because of my increased risk of infection. Realising that I have hardly and recollection of the years prior to six years old came as a bit of a surprise, most people of my age group remember their first day of school I however cannot due to the nature of my