The Beginning

In the fall of 2013 I was fresh out of high school and ready to take life by the horns and headed for university. I got into the college of engineering and thought I was ready to be an adult and take care of myself. I moved into a place of my own and away from home where the comforts of mom and dad were brought to me through frozen home cooked meals and weekend visits. I spent the majority of my time studying at the university and started to notice that by October I was feeling a little worn down. By early November 2013 I was having trouble going up stairs without losing my breath and I had noticed patches of red spots that would show up on my body. The patches were never itchy and they didn't hurt so I didn't think much of them, perhaps that I was showering with the water too hot. The patches soon moved from my arms to my chest and finally down to my legs where they remained for months from my kneecaps downward. One morning a friend jokingly punched me in the arm and the next day I had a big ugly purple bruise that encompassed most of my left bicep. I thought he was a jerk for punching me so hard (even though at the time it didn't seem like it) and once again, never thought twice about why the bruise was so large.

The spots don't look particularly bad in this photo which is why I had a lack of concern.

On November 28th I went to a friend's birthday party and stayed out fairly late. Quickly after that I got a sore throat from the late night that would not go away. I had a fever a week later and thought I would sweat it out and solve the problem, only the sore throat got worse and I was feeling more exhausted. I sought medical attention from a doctor in a walk in clinic who took a swab for strep throat but told me I was likely just fighting off a cold or flu. Of course I trusted the doctor's opinion and shrugged it off thinking I just needed more time.

While studying for my last final, my brother who is a paramedic stopped by the university to see me for a quick visit while on his way back to our hometown for Christmas. He noted that I looked very pale, "almost anemic" and should get a blood test done. Here is a comparison photo between my skin tone and my father's that evening.

I figured I was just stressed out from finals, eating too many prepackaged frozen dinners with not enough protein, and hadn't had any vigorous exercise in three months. I told myself that I would go home for Christmas and relax, eat to my heart's content and all would be well.

Unfortunately that was not the case. On December 26th I had a sore mouth that made swallowing an almost unbearable pain.

By Dec. 31 2013 I had finally decided enough was enough, I wasn't getting better and I needed to push through my phobia of needles to go and get bloodwork done.