When Your Body Hits a Wall
By Ailene Gerhardt, MA, BCPA, CSA®, Founder, Beacon Patient Solutions LLC & Navigating Solo Network
Host, The Navigating Solo™ Podcast
Since January, I’ve been approaching my health from a growth mindset: What can I learn about myself during this time, and how might it inform how I support patients and manage my own care? Maintaining this perspective has been essential as I navigate new and uncertain health challenges.
In April, I received a diagnosis of exclusion: Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys platelets, leading to a low platelet count and increased bleeding risk. There is no clear cause. My body has simply decided to destroy the platelets it produces. Clinically, this means I bruise more easily, fatigue more quickly, and require periodic infusions to keep platelet levels safe.
Professionally, I approach this as I would with any patient: learning as much as possible, asking informed questions, staying curious, and practicing patience. Navigating daily blood draws, infusions, and appointments at leading medical centers has highlighted the importance of coordinated care, attentive clinicians, and patient-centered communication. I am deeply grateful for access to outstanding care and for clinicians who consider not only clinical outcomes but also emotional and logistical impacts.
Last weekend, following an intensive hospital stay, including IVIG, Rituximab, Nplate, and iron, my body delivered an unmistakable signal: I’ve hit a wall. After back-to-back appointments and treatments, I experienced profound fatigue bone deep, heavy, and unlike anything I had felt during years of iron deficiency anemia. My clinicians advised taking the weekend to do nothing but rest, recharge, and be still. I have followed that guidance.
This experience reinforces several professional insights:
Even with excellent care, the patient experience can reach physical and emotional limits. Recognizing these limits is critical in planning follow-up, pacing treatments, and supporting adherence.
Listening to the patient’s body is as important as tracking labs. Self-reporting of exhaustion, pain, or other subjective symptoms provides essential context for care decisions.
Rest and recovery are integral parts of treatment. Advocacy often emphasizes action and planning, but acknowledging when the body requires stillness is equally vital.
While I remain optimistic and committed to maintaining a positive approach, I am also honest about the challenges of this experience. These moments of deep fatigue are a reminder that resilience is not only measured by perseverance but also by the ability to recognize limits, accept support, and prioritize self care.
For healthcare professionals and advocates, this dual perspective, experiencing care both as provider and patient, underscores the value of empathy, pacing, and holistic understanding in supporting patients through complex, unpredictable conditions.