Me, My Brother, and MG — Allen Francis

I abhor asking for help. That doesn’t mean I’ve never asked for help in my life, though. Far from it. As a grown man, I pride myself on trying to do the best I can on my own. I like believing in this ideal, but it is far from the…

My twin brother, Aaron, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 1999. It was a moment that changed both his life and my own. Aaron was 24 at the time and worked as a manual laborer but hadn’t decided on a career yet. MG limited what Aaron could do…

I used to have a quote on my Facebook page that said, “Don’t take life too seriously; none of us is getting out alive.” To my ear the last part of that quote is pretty nihilistic, and I’ve only understood the seriousness of it as I’ve been getting older. I…

Along with the certainty of death and taxes, life is mostly about mitigating stress and finding peace within the chaos. As we navigate life, uncertainty abounds, and some of us deal with more of it than others. I’m learning that young people say we huff “copium” when grappling with uncertainty,…

Is escapism a way to cope with reality or, as the word implies, an attempt to slowly and permanently escape from it? Does escapism have levels to it, and when is it dangerous? I’ll admit I’m an escapist. I’m a former pothead who lost way too many brain cells to…

Talk show host Conan O’Brien, among many others, once said, “When all else fails, there is always delusion.” As human beings, we want to believe what we want to believe, even when red flags and truth indicators warn us of the contrary. It can be comforting to embrace delusion when…

The writer and editor Christy Leigh Stewart, who lives with a terminal illness, once said, “Remission is not a cure. It’s an adjective of disability.” In other words, remission from a disease refers to a temporary reprieve from symptoms. There’s a lot I’m still learning about my twin brother,…

“Failure is not an option. Winning and learning are the options.” I don’t know who said that quote, though it’s been attributed (with slightly different grammar) to the neurologist and writer Debasish Mridha. But it often inspires me in life. There are so many things I’ve yet to do, but…

Yoga expert Vanda Scaravelli once said, “Movement is the song of the body.” Every person has a rhythm when they walk, move, or use mannerisms to communicate. Since my twin brother, Aaron, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 1999 at 24 years old, his rhythms have looked a…

I started traveling as a backpacker when I was 19 years old, back in the 1990s. I spent a semester studying in London in 1997. As a naive kid from the South Bronx in New York City, I found it mind-blowing to be in countries where people spoke English but…

When I was a toddler, I tripped and fell into a wall. The impact caused a small wound on my forehead, and I cried out in pain. My twin brother, Aaron, who was napping at the time, woke up wailing, as if he were also in pain. My family told…

Do you ever use a phrase often without fully appreciating its meaning, especially its meaning to others? I’ve been thinking about the phrase “seeing double” for some time. My twin brother, Aaron, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 1999, and he lives with a lot of its…