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One of my catchphrases, stolen from my father, is “there are worse things than being alone.” I’ve always known these were borrowed words, but yesterday’s Rare Disease Day provided the impetus I needed to discover their origins. As I reflected on what the awareness day meant to me, I…

Q: What is myasthenia gravis (MG)? A: It’s a neuromuscular autoimmune disease. Q: What is a neuromuscular autoimmune disease? A: It’s when your immune system attacks the junction where nerve cells meet muscle cells. Does anyone else feel like they’re giving a lecture when explaining this thing we…

I’ve learned that I have my best days when I maintain an optimistic, positive outlook. Some days the challenges of life with myasthenia gravis (MG) make such an outlook almost impossible. Emphasis on almost. I’ve developed a coping mechanism that I use when I struggle through such days,…

“A service-connected condition means an illness or injury that was caused by — or got worse because of — your active military service.” Did you know that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, also known as the VA, considers myasthenia gravis (MG) a presumptive service-connected condition for veterans?…

Love. It’s a four-letter word that can mean a hundred different things, depending on how and where it’s used. One of the things that sets my husband, Justin, and I apart from some folks is that we don’t wait for Valentine’s Day to celebrate and honor the love we…

When I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2020, I decided to find out all I could about the disease. I love to read, so I started with the written word. I got ahold of every book or article I could find and was hit with all…

It was 11:50 p.m. Wednesday night, and I was just getting ready to head up to bed after a long, frustrating day at the office. Meetings that ran late and frustrating tech issues were among the woes that led me to this point. Yet as I was unplugging for…

I’ve always considered myself a patient man. One doesn’t succeed as a teacher without some degree of the trait. But the past four weeks have shown me that life with myasthenia gravis (MG) requires a level of patience I never thought I could achieve. I’ve learned that challenges…

Last week, I was asked to respond to “Tell me about yourself” as it related to my disabilities and the help I needed around the house. The request came during an intake meeting to have an outside caregiving company come in to help my husband and me. Even though I…

I live in a little community in northwestern Wisconsin that boasts fewer than 1,000 year-round residents. This fluctuates greatly during the winter and summer tourist seasons. I had concerns about living in such a rural area when my husband and I decided to move from Maine…