A moment of fear, a rush of memories, and the truth about living with ITP — even on the “good” days.
A single unexplained bruise can stop you in your tracks — no matter how long you’ve been living with ITP. In this deeply personal episode, Danielle shares the story of a large bruise she discovered while visiting her family overseas, and the intense 30-minute spiral that followed.
From the instant fight‑or‑flight response to the familiar rush of “What’s my platelet count?” thinking, she opens up about the emotional conditioning that begins on day one of diagnosis and never fully disappears.
Through raw honesty and gentle reflection, Danielle explores why these reactions are so normal for people living with ITP, how the nervous system remembers past fear even when the present is safe, and what helped her ground herself before realising the bruise had a simple, non-ITP cause.
This episode is a reminder that even the most experienced, stable, and knowledgeable patients still have moments of doubt — and that none of us ever have to face them alone.
Thanks for listening to Beyond the Count
For more information, resources and lived experiences about Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP), visit ITPANZ.org.au.
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