Columns

Life is filled with a special package of ups and downs individually tailored for each of us. We are then presented with the opportunity to overcome these obstacles or let them take over every aspect of our lives and eventually limit us. I have never been a fan of the…

At school, I wanted to belong to the “cool crowd.” I used to watch them from the outside and was so jealous of the way they seemed to glide around school, owning every little aspect of it. We all wanted to be in their little clique because they were the…

It takes serious work to be a patient, regardless of the disease you have. The lay person’s portrayal of chronic illness and the subsequent clinical perceptions of patients leave a lot to be desired in their inadequate awareness, and, at times, acceptance of our reality. These impressions barely scratch the…

The first thing I was forced to learn very quickly after falling ill is that doctors are only human. It does not matter if they are specialists, general practitioners, or retired; human nature is bound to catch up with them at some stage. As we all know, human nature is…

During my most critical year with myasthenia gravis, I spent an inordinate amount of time in the emergency room and on various hospital floors. A good deal of the ER staff soon got to know me by name and, while clueless as to how to help my rare but potentially deadly…

I am approaching my 25th birthday, and due to my poor health, I have had to extend my studies a few times. This has contributed to both the academic success I have maintained and the grief of not graduating with my classmates. As a lover of all animals, I decided…

When I was diagnosed in 2004, it was a shock to my entire family. We had never heard of this disease and had no idea what it meant for my future. I had to take a year off school due to hospitalizations, treatments, and a thymectomy. I felt like…

I have always believed that we can either allow our circumstances to shape us or we can shape ourselves to better deal with our circumstances. There are few experiences in life that we cannot learn from — we just have to be willing to learn those lessons. The latter is…

Cannabis is illegal where I live, meaning my first interaction with it was also illegal. I do not pride myself on that fact. Actually, it has been the root of a lot of shame in my past. Finding relief in something that many perceive as a “gateway drug” never quite…

Recently, I was chatting with some of the other ladies in my support group who have been on a similar path as me — constant hospitalizations and relapses. They have also been through the heartbreak of having yet another treatment not work and the uncertainty of their future, health-wise. We…