Columns

I abhor asking for help. That doesn’t mean I’ve never asked for help in my life, though. Far from it. As a grown man, I pride myself on trying to do the best I can on my own. I like believing in this ideal, but it is far from the…

Before I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2019, my symptoms led me to think that my body was lacking vitamins and nutrients. After my diagnosis, I blamed my weight gain on MG, even though hormones played a big role, too. I’ve tried several diets over the years,…

It all started during a regular intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion, part of my routine dance with myasthenia gravis (MG). I was mid-infusion when my eyelids started doing the gravity tango and my ability to speak and swallow took a nosedive. Drooping, choking, and that unmistakable MG weakness crept in…

My twin brother, Aaron, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 1999. It was a moment that changed both his life and my own. Aaron was 24 at the time and worked as a manual laborer but hadn’t decided on a career yet. MG limited what Aaron could do…

Last year, when I started a new job, I was asked to create funny, educational videos. The first topic I tackled was “Celebrities You Didn’t Know Have an Invisible Disability.” And right there, I had this strange realization: I hadn’t been drawn to a…

I’ve seen these questions pop up in myasthenia gravis (MG) forums more times than I can count: “Why do we get weak? Why do we fall?” If you live with MG, you’ve probably asked it, too — sometimes out loud, sometimes in that quiet moment after your tush…

I used to have a quote on my Facebook page that said, “Don’t take life too seriously; none of us is getting out alive.” To my ear the last part of that quote is pretty nihilistic, and I’ve only understood the seriousness of it as I’ve been getting older. I…

I was never really a sports fan, and there weren’t many other cultural activities around where I lived. But as I got older, I soon found my passion: shopping. I know, I sound like a high schooler, but in my head, I still am! Don’t judge! From when I was…

Along with the certainty of death and taxes, life is mostly about mitigating stress and finding peace within the chaos. As we navigate life, uncertainty abounds, and some of us deal with more of it than others. I’m learning that young people say we huff “copium” when grappling with uncertainty,…

This column is a letter to my 9-year-old self. I’m choosing this age because I was lost then — and not only because of my disease. It was my last year of primary school and the point at which my life shifted from that of a child to that of…