Nicollette's Story: When A Rash Isn't A Rash But A Leukemia Red Flag

EAST HAVEN, CT —After being told the rash she noticed on her chest and neck was "just eczema," she went on about her day. But the tiny red dots called petechiae —small spots of bleeding under the skin—were definitely not a rash.

Days later, feeling very unwell and experiencing excessive menstrual bleeding, the 30-year-old native East Havener went to an emergency walk-in clinic. That's when blood tests were done.

Nicollette Brooks, born in raised in East Haven and a hairdresser at A Salon Spot in North Branford, had gone to Salem, MA on Halloween with her boyfriend. It was a Tuesday. Over the next two days, the excessive bleeding had her worried. She was also having a hard time staying awake at work. Friday, she left work early and went to Yale New Haven Heath's Shoreline Medical Center in Guilford, "Because I just didn't feel right."

Once her blood was tested, Brooks said it was found that her "platelets, red, white, and other blood counts were extremely low." She was admitted into Smilow Cancer Hospital's hematology wing, she said.

Shortly after being admitted, a doctor told her she had "a large amount of "blast cells."

Myeloblasts, also called blast cells, are young blood cells produced by stem cells and too many can interfere with red and white blood cells and platelet production.

It was Friday, Nov. 3 when Brooks was told she had leukemia. A bone marrow biopsy "narrowed it down to Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML," she said.

Brooks lives in East Haven with her mother Donna, her stepfather Camille, her grandfather John, and their two Boston terriers Cali and Bodi.

"They're still waiting for test results to find out if it's genetic or not," the young woman said. "I also have a mutation that puts me at high risk for it returning with just chemo, requiring a bone marrow donor, to replace my cells with new ones to hopefully put me in complete remission."

What Brooks needs now is a donor.

"From my last appointment with my transplant doctor, there is currently only a nine out of 10 match for me," Brooks said. "The longer I have to wait, I will require chemo about every four to six weeks to ensure my blast cells stay under five percent."

Now, she's reaching out to folks to consider donating plasma to Be The Match. Not just for her, but for others.

"I'm so extremely grateful that they do what they do to help other people who require a donor," she said of Be The Match. "During both of my hospital stays, and every time I go there to get blood work done to check my blood counts, I see so many others fighting like I am, and it breaks my heart."

Be The Match is the National Marrow Donor Program. "We believe each of us holds the key to curing blood cancers and disorders," the agency notes. "As a global nonprofit leader in cell therapy, NMDP creates essential connections between researchers and supporters to inspire action and accelerate innovation to find life-saving cures."

Brooks said that as she now knows she'll need blood and platelet transfusions, many others do as well.

"That's why it's so important to donate blood, platelets, and others to help not only me," Brooks said, "But other's loved ones fighting their battles."

The NMDP asks folks to "Become a potential life-saver to patients battling blood cancers or blood diseases in need of a donor."

Brooks' condition is dependent on donors. But her efforts in sharing her story on social media and now with Patch is to "raise awareness."

"In general, I'd just love to see our community help each other any way they can, whether its donating or just helping raise awareness of the importance of donating," she said. "You may not know or see the lives you're helping, but they are there and are more than grateful."

Brooks said that she feels blessed that she has a "huge support system with my friends and family."

"I couldn't be going through this without them," she said, adding that the "nurses and doctors and everyone in between at Smilow" are deserving of praise and gratitude.

"They've helped my stays be a little less lonely and scary."