Needless to say, a well-functioning bloodstream is absolutely crucial to our well-being. Disorders in the bloodstream can affect our energy levels, ability to fight infection, or ability to recover after even minor bumps and bruises, things we ordinarily take for granted. Anemia of various types (including sickle-cell anemia), bone marrow disorders (such as myelofibrosis), low red or white blood cells (such as chronic thrombocytopenia), and hemophilia type conditions can be resistant to treatment. When it is, a person with this condition can feel very fatigued and without energy, in pain, dizzy, or take a very long time to recover from what, for most people, would be a simple bruise. It is also typical that many of the worst symptoms do not occur as long as someone is getting frequent rest throughout the day. And, sometimes the treatment itself causes additional side effects that further limit a person’s ability to function.

Most blood disorders do not affect a person the same way every day; it is very typical for a person with this kind of medical condition to have “good days and bad days,” days where functioning does not seem very affected at all, but other days where it’s a struggle to even do basic daily activities.

A disabling condition does not need to be disabling every day to support a finding that a person is unable to work, because being able to work means being able to do it day after day, week after week, on a regular and continuous basis.