Columns

As she celebrates 10 years of marriage, Shawna Barnes reflects on planning a wedding while managing serious health challenges. She shares practical tips for creating a meaningful, low-stress celebration by prioritizing your well-being.

As a historian and teacher, I often make connections between current events and the past. Because I also live with myasthenia gravis (MG), recent events called to mind a connection between the past and MG. In June, the Titan submersible imploded, resulting in the deaths of all five…

Grief comes to me more often than I care to admit. It doesn’t just come when a loved one passes away. When a person acquires a rare disease like myasthenia gravis (MG) later in life, as I did, grief seems to come in cycles. Usually I try to…

If I’m not careful, myasthenia gravis (MG) will take control of areas of my life I don’t want it to. I’m not referring to the daily exercise regimens or the employment challenges, but rather my interactions with others. In phone conversations with family and friends, I sometimes catch myself…

Six years to a tentative diagnosis. Seven years to a confirmed diagnosis. Eight years to thymectomy. Eleven years to find a treatment plan that worked. These are the landmarks of my myasthenia gravis (MG) journey. The starting point was my medical retirement from the U.S. Army…

When I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG), I thought I understood the illness. The years since have been eye-opening. My MG has spiraled out of control several times. On those trying days, I wondered, “Why me?” I think I’ve finally found an answer to this question. After…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with prednisone. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. It’s been a year since I started writing about the weight gain I experienced while taking high-dose prednisone to manage…

The song “Build Me Up Buttercup” always plays in my head when someone tells me to “fill your cup.” But how do we fill our cups when we’re too weak to pour from the kettle? This topic has been on my mind lately as I dive into self-care…

Each day we try to make sense out of seemingly random events. We do this at both an individual and societal level. It’s seen in the creation stories found in all cultures. The Egyptians believed the world was created by the sun god Ra. The Romans believed their…

Can, or should, you get a massage if you have myasthenia gravis (MG)? Will the use of oils or lotions cause a symptom flare? I see these two questions floating around the interwebs frequently. I’m lucky in that my Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits include this thing called…