By Erin Baily – UC Davis Health –
For Hai Trinh, his disease started gradually. Fatigue. Bruising easily. He thought little of it.
As a mechanic, husband and father of two girls, he just kept pushing forward, attributing the persistent health challenges to his long working hours and physically demanding job.
When Hai finally went to his doctor, he learned he had low blood platelets, also called thrombocytopenia. The condition indicates less than 150,000 platelets per microliter of blood due to the failure of marrow cells to produce platelets. This leads to bruising, pinpoint red spots called petechiae and prolonged bleeding. Hai was also experiencing tiredness and other symptoms.
