Personal Narrative: Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

I am 13 years old. I have been working since I was seven. My job is full of sweat, hard work, tears, pain, frustration, pressure, time, sunburns, and losing my voice. However, it also includes, excitement, joy, victory, accomplishment, fun, cheering, dedication, power, drive, leadership, teamwork, friends, and people to depend on. My job is what I love to do and nothing will stop me from doing it. Not even being diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). During the spring of sixth grade, I found out I had Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). This is a sickness in which you have low platelets. Platelets are in you blood and they help your body heal. However, your immune system sees platelets as a virus. It fights them

I had to sit on the bench every game. I cheered on my team every second that I could. I did little drills that could not injure me. I could pitch and hit, but I couldn’t play the game I love. Every two weeks, I would have to get blood drawn to check my platelet count. The lowest number I had was 7, 000. However, this sickness didn’t stop me. I worked hard second I could. With the time I had to take off from softball, many people thought I would fall behind and not be as good as everyone else. However, it took hard work and dedication to be as good, even better than my other teammates. I had to work twice as hard because I couldn’t play in games. I hit, pitched, and slightly worked on fielding in my basement. However, I couldn’t play because of how direct the contact was. It was hard for me to miss a whole season, but I powered through. I went to every game and practice, even though I couldn’t do

My platelet count was up to 27, 000 and I was able to play. However, this came with risk. I had to wear a chest protector, ankle protector (when I hit), and a face mask in the field. My team dominated the other teams. No one was worried about us losing. The only thing my team was worried about was me getting hit. Sure enough, the first game I played, I got hit on my thy. I had a huge bruise almost instantly. However, I continued to play hard and to my best ability. I had worked hard and practiced a lot. Therefor, I was not behind the skill level of my teammates. I was about the same or even ahead of them. I had a story. I have a story. My life and experience is a story. I can now tell my softball life story. I never gave up and I never will. One day I will be like Rainey Gaffin. I will get a full ride scholarship to Tennessee. I will become a Tennessee Volunteer one day. However, without my hard work, I would not be the player I am