A Good Life with Bad Muscles - a Column by Retha De Wet

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…

I have always believed that we can either allow our circumstances to shape us or we can shape ourselves to better deal with our circumstances. There are few experiences in life that we cannot learn from — we just have to be willing to learn those lessons. The latter is…

Cannabis is illegal where I live, meaning my first interaction with it was also illegal. I do not pride myself on that fact. Actually, it has been the root of a lot of shame in my past. Finding relief in something that many perceive as a “gateway drug” never quite…