When I entered the hospital for dengue, I was very upbeat and just a little bit worried that I’d have to cancel an out of town trip and several meetings. I was even updating my friends through Plurk and Facebook regarding my platelet count and blood transfusions.

Then, things got worse. My platelet count went lower even after several blood transfusions. Some people were wondering why I still seemed normal and functioning well even when my platelet count was at a critical level, lower than the count of some patients who died of dengue. My doctor cousin suspected I had leukemia and I had to have a bone marrow aspiration (BMA) to check if my bone marrow and whatnot is functioning. It was very scary time and I was already ready to die. LOL! But true.

The verdict after the BMA was Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Idiopathic means there is no known cause, thrombocytopenic means an abnormally low platelet count, and purpura means a reddish or purplish discoloration of the skin similar to rashes and bruises. I have an illness that afflicts 50 – 100 persons per million per year. That’s around 0.005% of the population. And it’s a chronic disease in adults, with only 20-40% chance of remission.

More importantly, it meant I have to totally change my lifestyle. No more outdoors, no more prolonged exposure to the sun, no more eating anything I want anytime I want to eat, and no more smoking and too much drinking. And no more staying out late or getting stressed out too much. Errr…. NOOOOOOOOOO!

It has definitely been an interesting few months. And I think while my entire 2010 has been very interestingm, my illness takes the cake of being the most earth-shattering or maybe just life-changing and most bloggable. Who would think that a simple case of dengue would change my life forever? My illness and its effects and consequences in my life has been a good source for introspection and life assessment. I’d like to think I have a become a better person and a renewed blogger with a new perspective on things.

What about you? What was your most interesting and most bloggable moment in 2010?

Thank you to Winston and Jehz for running a blogging contest on “What is the most significant bloggable event that happened to you in 2010?”!!!