If I wear a high-cut top or a scarf, you won’t see the 15-cm (almost 6-inch) line plunging from my neck to my cleavage. The scar is a big giveaway that I am not a medically stable person. One of the reasons I don’t feel very self-conscious about my…
A Good Life with Bad Muscles — Retha De Wet
Retha is a columnist from sunny South Africa. When she’s not writing, she is practicing as a speech therapist. Diagnosed with myasthenia gravis just around her 20th birthday, she has been through several treatment options since then and has been classified as refractory. She hopes her column will encourage readers to look for the good in life and always keep fighting. She loves her dog an irrational amount and is always willing to share pictures of him.
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Around three years ago, I welcomed home an Italian greyhound puppy named Pablo. He changed my life for the better. Now, my boyfriend, Tom, and I have adopted another 1-year-old Italian greyhound. Blitz with a goofy grin. (Photo by Retha de Wet) His name is Blitz, which means…
Myasthenics adjusting to reduced physical abilities must make lifestyle adaptations. To ensure the continuation of my tertiary studies, I’ve acquired disabled parking on campus. Applying for the placard dented my pride. I struggled for months before finally admitting to needing disabled parking. I could no longer walk the distance from…
Wondering about the reasons behind life-changing moments is only natural. It is normal to guess what your part in your eventual fate was, but sometimes things cannot be understood so simply. And that is almost more frustrating than the actual reason behind most things in life. My myasthenia gravis…
Nothing has ever made me feel more alone in this world than lying awake in my hospital bed at night. Myasthenia gravis patients are not allowed sleeping tablets because they could be fatal. So, I will often lie in my hospital bed at night for hours. When that happens, I…
No one will ever fully understand what you go through, but I am pretty sure you have figured that out already. People are going to surprise you in the best and worst of ways, but you will grow from it. Unfortunately, you have been dealt a poor hand of health —…
Myasthenia gravis has managed to take away quite a few important aspects of my life. These are the things I continuously reminded myself of in moments of self-pity. However, today I possess a few skills and traits that stem from my disease. I’ve refused to let this disease take…
Medical science is ever evolving. There are more diseases being discovered, advances in medical technology, and changes in perceptions of medications and their effects on the human body. Humanity has definitely come a long way since believing that drilling a hole in a patient’s skull would rid them of evil…
I was never gifted with numbers, but I always felt confident when it came to languages. When my emotions are too overwhelming to comprehend, I look for answers in written work, or I simply start writing down how I feel. It helps me deal with big emotions and determine why I…
Living in a developing country influences my view of the world. I come into contact with the poorest of the poor, yet I can attend world-class private hospitals because I am fortunate to be able to afford medical insurance. We live in such a busy and fast-changing era that we…
Life is filled with a special package of ups and downs individually tailored for each of us. We are then presented with the opportunity to overcome these obstacles or let them take over every aspect of our lives and eventually limit us. I have never been a fan of the…
The first thing I was forced to learn very quickly after falling ill is that doctors are only human. It does not matter if they are specialists, general practitioners, or retired; human nature is bound to catch up with them at some stage. As we all know, human nature is…
I am approaching my 25th birthday, and due to my poor health, I have had to extend my studies a few times. This has contributed to both the academic success I have maintained and the grief of not graduating with my classmates. As a lover of all animals, I decided…
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