Columns

With more than 5,000 square feet of space, incredible exterior grounds, a swimming pool, a cabana, and splendorous decorations — especially at Christmastime — it was a house that couldn’t help but impress. Every room glowed with warmth and light. But on that particular morning, it felt enormously empty. I’d…

Living with myasthenia gravis (MG) means living with questions. Not the big, existential ones, but the small, relentless ones that follow you through your day. Is this an internal trigger or an external one? Is it something I can control, or is it happening no matter what I do?…

Even 26 years after his myasthenia gravis (MG) diagnosis, my twin brother, Aaron, struggles to talk about the effects of his disease. But he is beginning to open up a little more. Recently, he’s begun to talk about the trouble he has with walking. I thought this was…

Anyone who knows me would completely agree that I am too talkative. It is not always easy for my entourage, but for me, it is necessary. If I keep everything inside, it drains me, and I can spend hours trapped in my thoughts, overthinking every step, questioning every decision, and…

Looking back, there were signals that something was wrong. At the time, they seemed small, almost trivial, the kind of thing you notice for a moment and then forget. But hindsight has a way of turning minor details into important clues. The road to a myasthenia gravis (MG) diagnosis…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusions. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. One of the most disorienting parts of living with myasthenia gravis (MG) is how quickly everything can…

I have sometimes been told that I must be happy to have myasthenia gravis (MG). Maybe this is because I appear too comfortable with it, or perhaps it’s easier to think I’m happy than to face the reality of living with this invisible disability. Hearing such a thing used…

Turn on the news almost any day, and it can feel as if the moral temperature of the country has dropped a few degrees. Stories of violence, greed, callousness, and unspeakable crimes dominate the headlines. It can be easy to develop a dark outlook about the world and the people…

Living with myasthenia gravis (MG) means learning that not all triggers come from the outside world. Some of the biggest ones come from inside my own body, the traitor. Hormonal shifts, sleep disruptions, and internal rhythms can shape my symptoms long before I’m aware danger is afoot. These…

My twin brother, Aaron, who has myasthenia gravis (MG), recently engaged in a physically intensive task. He explained over the phone that he had been cleaning his room when he came across some old wooden planks from a forgotten home project. He decided to finish it by…