Honestly I am a little nervous to write about this in fear that I may get a bit of back lash from my fellow ITP suffers, Doctor’s or just anyone who may read this really. However the whole purpose of this blog is to share personal insight into this condition and this post is my personal story.
To give everyone a bit of a rundown my name is Kylie, I suffer from chronic ITP (Immune thrombocytopenia) and yes I do Karate (a contact sport). For me Karate is more than just a hobby, it’s my outlet, my lifestyle and it’s something that I have done from the age of 4 years old. I honestly love it and without it I don’t feel like I am me.
When I was first diagnosed with ITP back in late 2016 I took my condition extremely seriously – maybe I was even a little over cautious. I wrapped myself in a bubble, I locked myself in my house, I stopped being social and I pretty much isolated myself. I did all this thinking that I was protecting myself thinking that if I followed these new set of rules that I could either beat this condition or just prevent things from getting worse. Although I’ve learnt now that this condition doesn’t play by the rules and can be so unpredictable.
But what I didn’t take into account was how these new set of rules I put upon myself would affect me mentally. Depressed is an understatement! It’s like one day I was me then the next everything that made me who I was (my identity) was taken away.
I am very thankful that I opened up about my feelings to my doctor and that she is extremely understanding and open minded. Instead of disregarding my feelings she took them into account and we discussed my levels in detail and what my levels meant in relation to risks. We also discussed listening to my body and learning my “warning signs”.
Basically what I have found is that if my levels are above 35,000 although still at risk I can still participate in karate with an opponent (with taking extra caution of being hit). If my levels are however below this number then I participate in karate without an opponent (eg. Although still in a class I train by myself). This by no means is my doctor’s orders she would much prefer I never had an opponent in front of me however karate is about respect and that is incorporated into training with each other – if you are trained correctly you’ll know that you need to have respect for your opponents body and I trust those that I decide to train with.
Every now and then I still get some retards that do karate whom presume that I use my “illness” as an excuse. As if I am afraid to fight them so out comes my “illness card”. I suppose they really do not understand the danger I sometimes will put myself through in order to feel normal. My doctor has made it very clear that if I take the risk to fight and get hit then I can potentially risk having some serious internal bleeding, not to mention if I cop a blow to the head it could be fatal. So I have had to learn to be smart about my training, not to be peer pressured and choose my partner wisely (those whom incorporate respect into their training).
I honestly hate the fact that I have to tell people that I have this condition because I don’t want them to take it easy on me – I like the challenge. However it’s not fair on anyone if I keep it a secret and something bad happens.
Another aspect is I can’t guarantee where my levels are at. Yes I get regular check-ups however my levels can go up and down from time to time. This is when I have to trust my intuition and listen to my body. Generally this condition can make me extremely exhausted and I tend to notice that when I am feeling run down then that means my levels have had a drop. When I feel like this, it means I need to take it easy and give my body the time to recover.
Doing karate may not be everyone’s cup of tea and I don’t expect everyone to understand why I do what I do. But I want it to be clear that just because you have been diagnosed with ITP doesn’t mean you can’t live your life or make your own choices. This condition doesn’t define you!
Before deciding to do any sport be sure to discuss your options with your doctor and know your potential risks.