Don't Waste Your TTP

Don’t waste your TTP. This concept was brought forward to me by a former colleague, Gerv Markham, in his blog called Thank God For Cancer. Although Gerv’s blog does discuss how his cancer was designed for him, my interpretation is Don’t Waste.

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP) is a blood disease which depletes the platelets. It has a low survival rate with no treatment, but about a 90 percent survival rate with treatment. Luckily, I have had successful treatments three times and am now working on my fourth.

TTP recovery can be a long process. For me, I am usually in the hospital for about 2 weeks. Then, I am discharged, but may have a month or three to receive drugs to try to prevent a TTP recurrence. I have had TTP four times, but I have also had the advantage of not wasting TTP repeatedly.

We do have choices. We can waste. It might be so much easier to grab some snacks, curl up on the couch and watch Netflix, forever. Problem for me is copious amounts of Prednisone - the steroid used to halt the auto-immune disease. I can’t just sit around. My mind keeps racing, so I need to be doing something useful.

I do a few things. I work on rainy day tasks and I help promote support for TTP patients.

Don’t waste your history. I am the oldest member on my side of the family, no parents, no grandparents. I have become a historian. I have worked on family genealogy. I have scanned hundreds of negatives, slides and pictures. I have prepared photo books to show the history and memories of our family, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews and children. I have done wedding, birthday and family albums. My hope is that old pictures will not waste away in a box in the basement but will be presented as a collection to bring back memories and provide knowledge to my kids that their grandparents and great grandparents were real.

Don’t waste space and clothes. Look in your closet, your drawers. What is all that stuff? When did you last wear it? Does it bring you joy? I have my favourites and the others are in the way or are waiting for a room to be painted. Take a few minutes, be ruthless, and make some donations.

What’s in your basement or garage? Are these just storage places. I wrote a blog called Taking Back Your Home. I cleaned and took back our garage and we have had two fabulous winters with our cars nice and clean with no snow. Never did get to the basement, but then I have more TTP not to waste.

Finally, I enjoy writing these blogs and getting the message out. Our family supports the Answering T.T.P. charity and have joined them for their spring Chance for Change event and International TTP Day in the fall. In fact, @BruceFightsTTP has raised over $8,000 in 2017 and over $6,000 in 2018. We are looking forward to the 2019 events.

Give blood, hug a nurse and don’t waste your TTP.

Thanks, Bruce.

@BruceFightsTTP