My name is Drew.
I’m a college student — and a college athlete. I’m not letting PNH stop me. This is my story.
Drew is a college student who loves to play baseball. As with any sport, the requirements are year-round, but it hasn’t always been easy for Drew to keep up with the demands of his college academics and sports. In fact, at times, it was almost impossible. Drew has PNH — a rare, potentially life-threatening disease that destroys red blood cells through a process called hemolysis.1-3 Essentially, Drew’s body attacks its own red blood cells, often making him so exhausted that he has difficulty functioning like others his own age.
In the fall of 2005, before he had even heard of PNH, Drew was struggling through his freshman year. He was always tired. Practically all he wanted to do was sleep. He found himself sleeping through his classes, sleeping through his study time, and even sleeping through his workouts.
Not only were his grades slipping, so were his dreams of pitching at the college level. It got worse when Drew noticed his urine was dark and red. Though he suspected that none of these symptoms seemed normal for a young, healthy athlete like himself, Drew simply attributed them to the rigors of his training. After all, there were times when Drew felt fine. His urine was dark
only after his workouts, and he was certainly pushing himself to perform, so he decided to tough it out and not think about it.
Then in March of 2006, he had no choice but to think about it. While practicing for a game, Drew passed out cold. Not one to give up, he arrived to pitch the following day, but his trainer knew better.
