Here’s to Breathing Easier, Eventually
LOL. Some days all you can do is laugh out loud. In January I got very sick with COVID-19. As…
Articles by Shawna Barnes
Trouble Eating and Speaking: Center Stage of My Bulbar Issues
Bulba what? Bulbar muscle group symptoms include losing the ability to speak — every man’s dream come true for…
Lobster to Cheese: Minimizing Stress While Moving Across the Country
“Nope. That needs to go in the other box, darling. Don’t forget to label it the way I showed you,…
Tools of the Trade: How I Live My Best Life With MG
It’s 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, and I have been awake since 3 a.m. My deadline for turning in this column…
How Can Hospitals Better Serve Rare Disease Communities?
“It’s just anxiety.” “It’s just stress or PTSD.” “You just need more rest.” For many of us in the…
My Quest to Name the Beast That Is MG
With a prevalence of 14-40 cases per 100,000 people in the U.S., myasthenia gravis (MG) is considered a rare…
‘Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby’
“Let’s talk about sex, baby/ Let’s talk about you and me/ Let’s talk about all the good things/ And the…
The Trials and Tribulations of COVID-19 and Rare Disease
Last month, I began experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. My husband had tested positive two days before that, but we…
Accepting Help and Receiving Kindness
I wrote last week about how the inaction and silence of others can be deafening. The opposite is also…
With Chronic Illness, the Silence of Others Is Deafening
One of the hardest things about living with a chronic illness like myasthenia gravis (MG) is the dialogue that doesn’t…