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Lying in bed while I type this from my phone, I’m annoyed, possibly even aggravated. I’ve been in this same position for most of the afternoon, impersonating Darth Vader while tethered to my BiPAP. My diaphragm has decided to be a passenger princess again, refusing to do the job…

I’ve always felt that being a woman put me at a disadvantage. I don’t dislike being a woman, but I have never really fit into the box society has created for me. I am happier being an independent entrepreneur than imagining myself as a stay-at-home wife. I want a career,…

Myasthenia gravis (MG) comes with symptoms that rarely behave the way people might expect. They tend to be subtle, they’re often invisible, and they get misread constantly — sometimes in ways that are annoying, sometimes in ways that are unintentionally hilarious. In my experience, the following three MG…

Walking has probably been one of my biggest griefs since myasthenia gravis (MG) entered my life. I still remember times when my legs were so numb and exhausted that I simply couldn’t take another step. Walking had always been a way I cleared my head. I could wander around,…

For more than 30 years, I stood in front of classrooms in two states, teaching history. I knew how to read a room and pace a lesson while making the Missouri Compromise seem worth the attention of high schoolers. Then myasthenia gravis (MG) permanently changed my schedule without permission.

When you live with a disease like myasthenia gravis (MG), the unexplainable becomes part of daily life. Symptoms appear without warning, flares derail plans, and a diagnosis can feel unfair, no matter how long you’ve lived with it. Religion is one of the oldest ways humans have tried to…

My mother was not a quilter. In 87 years, I don’t think she ever gave quilts a thought. It wasn’t until I was an adult living in the South that I became aware of the craft’s popularity. I learned about quilting weekends, magazines, stores, group chats, and more. I saw…

A diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn’t have to define it. For me, living with myasthenia gravis (MG) doesn’t just mean learning how to manage the disease. It has helped me ask questions, notice patterns, and even become something I didn’t expect: a patient researcher.

When it comes to illness, we like having a reason for it. When my stomach hurts, I ask myself what I ate. When I catch the flu, I wonder who I might have gotten it from. So when I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG), my first questions were…