Lucita “Lulu” Altman is a remarkable young woman battling a number of autoimmune diseases, including thrombophilia, which causes her blood to clot when it shouldn’t. “Autoimmune diseases are like buy 1, get 35,000 free,” she says. “Sometimes, especially with a blood disorder, it feels like you’re a test tube. It can be difficult to go in once or twice a week and get blood draws or go to the clinic and worry about what today will be like. Will they find a vein? Is this one going to hurt?”
To manage her thrombophilia, Lulu takes Warfarin, a blood thinner, nightly and receives care at Versiti Comprehensive Center for Bleeding Disorders. “They’ve been very good at providing information and instructions and checking in after test results come in,” she says. “It’s helpful to know that there’s somebody watching and figuring things out behind the scenes.”
Despite this support, managing several diseases has taken a toll on Lulu, both mentally and physically. “It’s constant checking and worrying,” she says. “But Versiti has been very good at reaching out to us, which takes a load off of what we have to worry about.”
To lift her spirits, Lulu’s care team nominated her for Make-A-Wish, and she chose the opportunity to sing with an orchestra. “At the time, I didn’t know what I was thinking when I made the wish; I was having trouble breathing on my own,” she says. “It was a goal to work towards.”
In February 2024, Lulu joined the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra to sing some of her favorite songs from Broadway musicals. She credits this experience with helping to put health challenges aside and be a star for a night. “It was like a break; with all the blood checks and worrying, you miss out on a lot,” she says. “Now, I’m kind of getting into the groove of things. It’s made it easier to transition from the mindset of a sick kid to a girl who can do absolutely anything. It’s really helped boost my confidence. Sometimes, you just need that thing to bring you back to earth and tell you it’s going to be OK.”
People need people, make a difference in someone’s life by donating blood.
We must rely on each other for the gift of blood, and patients in your community rely on the generosity of Versiti’s blood donors to help. Please consider scheduling an appointment to donate. If this is your first time, donating blood is quick, easy and relatively painless. And, it is a great way to give back and help patients in your community.