I suddenly woke up with black spots in my mouth and bruises all over my body – now I’m bedridden and have been forced to leave my job

A mother-of-three receives a devastating diagnosis after discovering black spots in her mouth.

Claire Flowers’ sister, Tamara, took her to the local emergency department after noticing spots on the inside of her cheek.

‘The same day bruises started to appear. She developed a purple meningococcal rash that popped up everywhere,” Tamara said.

“She went to the emergency department and they took some blood and found she had little to no platelets.”

Claire, 39, was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) – a rare autoimmune disease that affects the number of platelets in the blood.

The mother of three children on the left was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) – a rare autoimmune disease

Tamara said ITP was a ‘lifelong disease’.

‘She won’t be able to go back to work. “If she falls and gets a bruise or a bump or something like that, she could bleed,” she said.

“If she hadn’t gone to the emergency department when she did, she might not have actually woken up the next morning.”

Tamara said Claire’s life was turned upside down in just one day.

“She called me today crying because she doesn’t know how to deal with what’s going on. She has three children and maintains the household, so all the bills, the rent, everything the children need,” she said.

‘She is a teacher for severely disabled children and she loves her job, and then she became bedridden. I can’t even imagine how she feels.’

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) – is a rare autoimmune disease that affects the number of platelets in the blood, and one of the symptoms may be black spots in the mouth

The diagnosis means that Claire (photo in hospital) cannot work full-time

Tamara said Claire had plans for a 40th birthday party and a holiday to Europe before the disease took hold.

‘Claire is a very strong person and it is not her place to fall. And she’s been through a lot of hard times.

‘Mentally she is a very strong person, but this is clearly testing her.’

Tamara said a disease like ITP can seemingly come out of nowhere.

“What she is classified with is an immunocompromised disease and it’s terrible because it can affect anyone at any time in their life – it doesn’t have to be something you’re born with,” she said.

Claire is now on high doses of steroids and oral chemotherapy. She will have to have a blood test every week to monitor her platelet count.

Tamara started with one GoFundMe page to help Claire pay her rent and other expenses while she is unable to work.

“I managed to get her just over $2,000, which is fantastic,” she said.

“She is so grateful that she uses it to pay the rent and buy food for her children.”