Living amid a pandemic can and should be alarming to everyone. However, not everyone understands how individual actions can affect others. Therefore, people with compromised immune systems, such as those of us with myasthenia gravis, may be more susceptible to heightened levels of anxiety and frustration toward those not…

There is no shame in spending time on something that didn’t work out the way we had planned, regardless of how long we spent on it. At some point, those of us with myasthenia gravis (MG) will probably endure periods of forced rest, our plans won’t play out as…

Throughout my thymectomy recovery, I am learning that we need to accept help when we need it, even if our lives aren’t precisely what we’d imagined. Consider that we want to keep growing into the most whole version of our potential selves. In that case, we have to…

It’s a lot more difficult agreeing to a scar than receiving one by accident. We often become comfortable with ourselves over time, and not knowing what we will look like post-surgery can be scary. We may worry how the physical changes will impact our lives and our interactions with…

I am currently composing this column six hours out from my transsternal thymectomy. Five mishaps leading up to the surgery have gone wrong on the scheduling side, and then the COVID-19 office lost my test. I have been relatively happy leading up to this, but it seems everything…

Snowflakes never meant much to me. As a kid, I would catch them in my mouth as they fell from the sky and cut their shapes out of construction paper. Now, after my myasthenia gravis (MG) diagnosis, I look at snowflakes with a newfound admiration and wonder. A miraculous…

In friendly relationships, I always try to remain compassionate and remember that people’s past encounters and experiences shape who they are. In order to grow, people need to be open-minded and teachable. In certain uncomfortable situations, I let unintentional offenses slide, I attempt to teach, and I move on…

It is entirely typical not to feel fearless during health tribulations. I am confident in my decision to have a thymectomy in a few short weeks. Nevertheless, I am incredibly anxious and hyperfocusing on multiple days in the hospital and an unpleasant recovery. Myasthenia gravis warriors are brave…

At the end of last June, I began experiencing a health crisis provoked by hydroxychloroquine. I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in the emergency room after a month of worsening symptoms, including double vision, sudden slurred speech, a drooping eye, difficulty swallowing, and overall weakness. Three weeks before my…