Kaylee's ITP Fight

This past August, we made a pediatrician appointment for Kaylee to check out some suspicious, unexplained bruising.  Kaylee has always had more bruises than we thought to be normal but we don't call her the Honey Badger for nothing.  She had blood drawn that day and we were told that we would have the results in a day or two.

Later that evening, I received a phone call from the on call doctor who said "Kaylee's results are critical, you need to take her to the ER immediately."  Normal platelet levels are between 150-400 (thousand), Kaylee's were 3 at that time.

Kaylee was diagnosed with an autoimmune blood disease called idiopathic/immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).  In addition to the bruising and petechiae that Kaylee often exhibits, the scary part of ITP is the possibility of nosebleeds that won't stop, internal bleeding from everyday bumps, and other such worries.

She spent time in our local ER but our town does not have the resources to treat her so she was airlifted that night to Phoenix Children's Hospital where she spent 2 days.  She was given a 6 hour iv treatment of IVIG (immunoglobulin) in the hospital.  The treatment did increase her platelets but it appears to have been a temporary fix as her counts have been steadily decreasing again. Her last draw was on 10/2 and she was down to 39.  Her hematologist has recommended another treatment of IVIG if she drops below 30.

Despite having insurance, our portion of these bills is still over $10,000.  This is just for the ONE initial, emergent episode (2 ambulance rides, 2 ERs, 1 air ambulance, 2 day hospital stay, countless blood draws and lab tests). 

We are still incurring additional costs for her biweekly checkups and blood draws, additional treatments, and the travel costs to those appointments (we live 2.5 hours from the Phoenix Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders where she is being treated by specialists).

Kaylee had blood drawn when she was 2 for a similar concern over her bruises.  She had 2 draws done at that time, 9 days apart.  We were told that she was fine but we now know that her platelets were low for that first draw (but had corrected themselves by the 2nd draw so they didn't inform us).  With this knowledge, it is looking like this may be a chronic condition that Kaylee will continue to fight.

We have applied for several medical financial aid scholarships and benevolent funds but so far, have not found any for which we qualify.  We would be so grateful for any amount that you can donate.  Can't donate? Please share so we can reach more people!  With your help, we are hoping that we can knock out some of these bills so that we can focus on getting Kaylee's ITP into remission!

If you want to read more about ITP, check out this free e-book! It's meant for kids so it is easy to understand without confusing medical jargon. http://bit.ly/2h4sris