Ari Maayan, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a biotech innovator and former Marine. He was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2016. He shares his advice for those who feel socially excluded while hospitalized.

An MG patient, when hospitalized — the first time it happens, I don’t know, maybe the second time it happens — eventually you get to the point where you recognize that it doesn’t matter what’s going on outside. It doesn’t matter what you’re missing and what you think you’re missing.

There’s only one thing to do and one thing only. You gonna get through this? You’re gonna have to focus. You’re going to have to focus on what you need to do for your body and letting everyone in the medical community that’s dealing with you, tell them exactly what’s going on with you and what you need. Because they’re not — they may think they know what was happening with you, but the only person that knows what’s going on with you is you.

And the only way you’re gonna get through it is for you to focus, focus, focus. And you’re gonna have to stay focused on who you are and what’s going on with you — and to hell with the outside world and trying to get through to the people who are dealing with you and think they know what you’re going through. And guess what? 90% of the time, they do not.

So you should be driving this horse and carriage. You better — you better, because sooner or later, you’re not gonna make it if you don’t run the show.