Aug & Sept 2024
Reflections from an ITP Relapse, MSK, and my new car
You’re receiving this monthly newsletter because you’ve been a valuable part of my life in some shape or form (or I’d like for you to be 🙂). See this video for context.
Let’s catch up sometime.
Apologies for the radio silence in August. It’s been quite the past few weeks:
I bought my first car
My life-threatening autoimmune condition relapsed
I thought a lot about life’s priorities
Read on if you’re interested.
“At least you have platelets”
This was my Grade 12 graduation quote, after spending the majority of 2018 with a platelet count below normal limits. After it self-resolved 9 months after my first hospitalization, I walked away with a greater appreciation of playing basketball and music (things I couldn’t do during those times), and also a hope that this would never happen again.
56 months later, I found myself connected to a bunch of IVs, bleeding for hours, and met with a scary “<2k/uL” number for weeks. And that was most of the month of August.
As one does when you’re met with a situation like this, you really think about what’s important. I’m 23 y/o, and my doctors were having conversations about organ removal and interventions like chemotherapy and heavy immunosuppressants.
What I’m very grateful for:
My family and friends, especially my mom, my partner, and my team, for coming down from Canada and spending nights with me at the hospital and being with me through treatment
The thoughts and prayers that came from a lot of my friends and family, and also those who I’ve never met before. If you were a part of that, thank you
How this humbled me to the fragility of life, and how everything could be taken in a split second
And to the staff at Stanford, for all of tests (all 200+ of them) and procedures
What this taught me:
Life can be short, and you don’t know what tomorrow has in store. So if youwant (to do) something, do it today
Spend more time with those who would drop everything to be with you at the hospital when you’re all bloodied up
Take care of your health, but live a lifestyle where you don’t have to. Eat a healthy diet, take supplements, and stay active, at the very least
It’s September now, and I’m grateful that after 6 weeks of unsuccessful treatment, I’m on a road back to recovery — humbled and grateful to God.
In other news
Biogenesis public launch is coming up soon in a few weeks. We just joined MSK in NYC for a clinical trials program, and the team spent a few days on site
I’ve been able to see a little bit more of California
Looking forward to playing more sports and enjoying the daylight before the rainy season comes
Thanks for reading this month’s update. Would love to hear how I can help you this month (maybe I can make some intros, work through some thoughts with you, or otherwise). See you next month 👋
Such a wild month and so extremely grateful to hear you are recovering – you're actually built different. Even when your body was fragile, you were so strong. Can't wait to see you soon 🤭