Gisselle Pernett
After going in for a routine checkup and expecting to have normal results, America Hernandez was being rushed to a hospital for a condition her doctors knew nothing about.
It wasn’t until she was hospitalized that she was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare condition that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the platelets in her body. This condition prevents the blood in her body from clotting, and when this happens even the smallest cut can result in losing a lot of the blood her body needs.
“I looked very pale, had almost no color in my face or lips, I had red dots all over my body that I later found out were called Patiki eye, it seemed like a rash at first, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, I felt like my normal self.” ,said Hernandez. Hernandez, 15, an active child, with a passion for sports and dancing, was in the midst of trying out for her schools soccer team when she got a call from her doctor telling her she needed to be rushed to the hospital immediately. While most high school students are focusing on classes and hanging out with friends, Hernandez was being diagnosed with an unknown illness causing her to be rushed in and out of the hospital every time her platelets were significantly low. At one point, she was put into the hospital for two weeks where she was left to watch doctor’s frantically look for cures before she would start to feel sick again. A couple months later her condition was given a name, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. “The Idiopathic part of the name basically means the doctors don’t know why this blood disorder happens.”, she explains. Hernandez explains she was put on different medications from the start of her condition. The first medication Hernandez was given was IVIG, or Intravenous Immunoglobulin, a medication that alters the immune system. Then she explains she was put on steroids, which were used to forcibly weaken the immune system to stop the destruction of platelets. However with a …show more content…
I got scared to take steroids, I was young I thought I was going to get super buff. I was scared because when you take steroids your heart accelerates really fast.”, she said.
From a young age, Hernandez was already assigned medication she needed to take daily. Hernandez knew this wasn’t a normal thing for a girl her age, this led to Hernandez into a deep depression.
Hernandez shares that not knowing what was wrong with her took a toll on her emotional health. Being continuously put on different medications and even with a name not knowing what her condition was going to do to her, Hernandez struggled to maintain the cheerful attitude she always had.
“I never thought about killing myself, I just questioned why did it happen to me? I felt worthless. I went to therapy, and it worked for me kind of.”
Hernandez started to attend therapy to deal with the depression that came her condition and being put on multiple medications. Hernandez also adds that the therapy sessions were divided between her and her mom. She explains that even though she was the one with the condition her mom was her support system and the stress that comes with a child who is sick was too much for her to handle
After going in for a routine checkup and expecting to have normal results, America Hernandez was being rushed to a hospital for a condition her doctors knew nothing about.
It wasn’t until she was hospitalized that she was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare condition that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the platelets in her body. This condition prevents the blood in her body from clotting, and when this happens even the smallest cut can result in losing a lot of the blood her body needs.
“I looked very pale, had almost no color in my face or lips, I had red dots all over my body that I later found out were called Patiki eye, it seemed like a rash at first, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, I felt like my normal self.” ,said Hernandez. Hernandez, 15, an active child, with a passion for sports and dancing, was in the midst of trying out for her schools soccer team when she got a call from her doctor telling her she needed to be rushed to the hospital immediately. While most high school students are focusing on classes and hanging out with friends, Hernandez was being diagnosed with an unknown illness causing her to be rushed in and out of the hospital every time her platelets were significantly low. At one point, she was put into the hospital for two weeks where she was left to watch doctor’s frantically look for cures before she would start to feel sick again. A couple months later her condition was given a name, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. “The Idiopathic part of the name basically means the doctors don’t know why this blood disorder happens.”, she explains. Hernandez explains she was put on different medications from the start of her condition. The first medication Hernandez was given was IVIG, or Intravenous Immunoglobulin, a medication that alters the immune system. Then she explains she was put on steroids, which were used to forcibly weaken the immune system to stop the destruction of platelets. However with a …show more content…
I got scared to take steroids, I was young I thought I was going to get super buff. I was scared because when you take steroids your heart accelerates really fast.”, she said.
From a young age, Hernandez was already assigned medication she needed to take daily. Hernandez knew this wasn’t a normal thing for a girl her age, this led to Hernandez into a deep depression.
Hernandez shares that not knowing what was wrong with her took a toll on her emotional health. Being continuously put on different medications and even with a name not knowing what her condition was going to do to her, Hernandez struggled to maintain the cheerful attitude she always had.
“I never thought about killing myself, I just questioned why did it happen to me? I felt worthless. I went to therapy, and it worked for me kind of.”
Hernandez started to attend therapy to deal with the depression that came her condition and being put on multiple medications. Hernandez also adds that the therapy sessions were divided between her and her mom. She explains that even though she was the one with the condition her mom was her support system and the stress that comes with a child who is sick was too much for her to handle