Columns

Why empathy is important in a patient-provider relationship

Living with myasthenia gravis (MG) tends to make one familiar with the world of medicine. Since my MG diagnosis in 2020, I’ve researched many different aspects of life with the disease. Along with the medical triumphs that have improved many patients’ lives, I’ve discovered that successful treatment requires an…

As I get back to swimming, slow and steady wins the race

Two hundred measly yards. If you had asked 14-year-old me to swim 200 yards, I would’ve laughed, flipped down my goggles, and knocked it out before you finished the question. I was a distance swimmer. The 1,000-yard and 1,650-yard races were my jam. There were plenty of practices where my…

Working through myasthenia gravis, one story at a time

It’s been 10 months since I started writing this column, and I can honestly say that it’s changed my life. My mindset, my emotional health, and even my relationship with myasthenia gravis (MG) have evolved. Writing hasn’t cured my condition, of course, but it’s helped me live…

As my dumbbells collect dust, my twin loves to work out

You must love yourself to keep a healthy lifestyle. But I don’t exercise enough; in fact, I have 20-pound dumbbells collecting dust in a corner of my small condo here in Manila, the Philippines. I decided to ask my twin, Aaron, about his exercise routine, partly for inspiration. Aaron was…

A day in the water is just what the doctor ordered

Healing doesn’t always look like rest and stillness. Sometimes it looks like kicking your legs with wild abandon in a murky lake while your husband looks on amused, wondering how his 41-year-old wife suddenly turned into a giddy 10-year-old. I’ve always loved the water, and it’s where I’ve felt the…