The Reasons Behind Falling Ill

The Reasons Behind Falling Ill

Wondering about the reasons behind life-changing moments is only natural. It is normal to guess what your part in your eventual fate was, but sometimes things cannot be understood so simply. And that is almost more frustrating than the actual reason behind most things in life. My myasthenia gravis…

Take Time to Appreciate and Thank Those Who Provide Care

This past week, I was lucky enough to attend the RareX 2018 Conference organized by Rare Diseases South Africa. It was a chance for healthcare professionals, support groups, and patients to meet up, interact, and attend really interesting lectures. I knew it would be a worthwhile event, but…

Patients with FSHD Can Develop Myasthenia Gravis, Report Indicates

Patients with facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD) — a type of muscular dystrophy — can develop myasthenia gravis, possibly because of underlying immune dysfunction. A letter to the editor describing the case, titled “A case of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis with positivity of anti-Ach receptor antibody: a fortuitous association?” was published…

Looking After the Mind and the Body

Nothing has ever made me feel more alone in this world than lying awake in my hospital bed at night. Myasthenia gravis patients are not allowed sleeping tablets because they could be fatal. So, I will often lie in my hospital bed at night for hours. When that happens, I…

The ‘Weight’ of Being Sick

Before my diagnosis, I was perfectly healthy. Even childhood ailments like chicken pox or mumps didn’t inflict me. In fact, I had never even had the flu! I was an extremely active girl and am proud to say that I even had a six-pack from all of my competitive dancing. At…

The Gift of Empathy

Chronic illness holds a lot of bittersweetness in its grasp. It takes away, and it gives. It teaches, and it humbles. One of the best opportunities it offers is the chance to give the gift of empathy and understanding to another. In suffering I have learned how to laugh…

A Letter to the Newly Diagnosed Myasthenic

No one will ever fully understand what you go through, but I am pretty sure you have figured that out already. People are going to surprise you in the best and worst of ways, but you will grow from it. Unfortunately, you have been dealt a poor hand of health —…