Columns

When I sat down to write a column about parenting with myasthenia gravis (MG), I had to give it a lot of thought. So much has changed for me since my diagnosis two years ago. I’m a single parent. My daughter was conceived with a donor, so it’s…

Living with myasthenia gravis (MG) means spending a lot of time advocating for ourselves. Most of the time, that advocacy happens in exam rooms, emergency departments, and hospital beds. What surprised me was learning that sometimes it also continues after we’ve gone home. The challenges of advocating for ourselves,…

Myasthenia gravis (MG) was the first major challenge my husband and I faced within our marriage. Before Ty received his diagnosis, life was smooth. I wouldn’t say things were perfect, but there was very little we disagreed about. Even when we didn’t see something the same way, the situation…

After living with myasthenia gravis (MG) for 18 years, everything about it seems intuitive and simple to me. I know how my body reacts, and I’ve learned how to live with it. Yet, when I visit online MG forums and support groups, I see people who have just received…

As Halloween grows closer, I’ve been taking another of my trips down memory lane. These trips are becoming more frequent as I get older, and the emotions they stir are bittersweet. I think about my childhood and the plastic Yogi Bear mask I wore one year. It had two holes…

When my husband, Ty, received his myasthenia gravis (MG) diagnosis over three years ago, I didn’t know what to expect at first. Initially, we were in fight-or-flight mode. Between trying to figure out how to manage his symptoms, going to specialist appointments, and creating a new routine, we didn’t…

The first time I heard those dreaded words, “You have myasthenia gravis” (MG), I felt such relief after searching so long for a diagnosis. That was quickly followed by an intense desire to learn everything I could about the condition. One of my biggest motivating factors was a strong…

In less than 30 days, I’ll be getting married and moving in with my future husband, the love of my life, who has lived through every stage of myasthenia gravis (MG) with me, from my diagnosis in 2018 to the grieving journey I am still going through today. But…

Every October, on the faces of many New Englanders, particularly Bostonians, you’ll see a look that cannot be seen anywhere else in the country. In my imagination, it’s the same look you would expect on the face of someone who has seen a religious or ghostly apparition, or the awe…

Let me paint the picture of what our world looked like three years ago. My husband, Ty, and I had been married for about eight years at the time. We were living what I would consider to be the most beautiful life. Peaceful walks around the neighborhood were an almost…