Pump It Up Walk a Success

June 23 proved to be the perfect day to Pump It Up For Platelets! at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge as more than 100 participants in the 5K walk/run raised more than $5,500 for Platelet Disorder Support Association programs and research. 

The association is dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with a rare blood disorder known as immune thrombocytopenia [ITP] and other platelet disorders through education, advocacy and research. 

ITP is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to mount an attack against platelets in the blood. Without a sufficient number of platelets, a person with ITP is subject to spontaneous bleeding or bruising.  

Mother-Daughter team Melissa McGuirl and Linda McGuirl, of Basking Ridge, with the help of Susan Anderson, of Bridgewater, organized this event to raise awareness for ITP and to honor Anderson’s son, Erik, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 18.

had several immune disorders and his life ended due to complications of a bone marrow transplant in 2011. Anderson was an active member of PDSA and he helped coordinate the first Basking Ridge ITP Walk/Run in 2010.

Linda McGuirl has ITP and is a co-facilitator of the Central/North Jersey ITP support group. Susan Anderson also co-facilitates the local support group and is a former PDSA Board Member.

Together, these two women started the local ITP Support Group five years ago to bring together those living with ITP and their families to share their stories and various treatments’ successes and failures.

“Since I have lived with ITP since 1985, I felt that I could help other people who had the same disease," McGuirl said. "I wanted to help people realize that they can live a happy life with ITP.  Even with my very low counts, I managed to have three healthy children with the help of my doctors and the support of my family. I wanted to share my success story with others."

"It was wonderful to see all the people that supported and attended the event in Erik's memory, including former caregivers that treated Erik when he was ill, a local NJ family that we connected with in Cincinnati where he had his transplant, and a Connecticut teen with ITP that Erik had met a few years ago while attending a national PDSA conference," Anderson added. "The outpouring of support was heartwarming."

Melissa McGuirl said the event gets better each year.

"I am so grateful for my family and friends that helped us make this event a huge success," she said. "It is an indescribable feeling to be able to help my Mom and others affected by ITP. This event is also a special way to remember and honor my friend Erik." 

In addition to the money collected that will be used for research, the McGuirls and the Andersons helped raise awareness in their local communities for a disease they both knew all too well, and they plan to continue to do so by making this an annual event.

“ITP is actually more than 10 times more common then hemophilia, yet not that many people are aware of it,” Susan Anderson said.

“This years event was very touching," Linda McGuirl added. "A young woman joined us who was recently diagnosed with ITP. She had never met another person with ITP. She came with her parents to meet other people with her rare illness and learned more about our local support group. In addition to many ITP patients, family, and friends, I was delighted to see many Basking Ridge residents who came out simply to support a good cause and get some exercise. Many of them had never of heard of ITP before and they were more than happy to support our cause."

Many local sponsors helped to make this event a success including O’Bagel, in Basking Ridge; Massage Envy, in Warren; 16 Handles, in Warren; and RB Electric, in Cranford.

For additional support during the year, the Central/North NJ ITP Support Group, which meets five times per year in the Morristown area, provides support and an information network for patients living with and managing ITP, caregivers, physicians and others interested in ITP. 

For more information on this local support group or to volunteer for Pump It Up For Platelets! in NJ, contact McGuirl at support@njpdsa.org.