Shawna Barnes, who lives in Wisconsin, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2018. She shares how her marriage became stronger by responding to MG with irreverence.

There was an incident shortly after I got my wheelchair because I have generalized myasthenia gravis and have bilateral weakness in my legs. We are still trying to figure out, like, what I actually had going on. So it was very early on. And, you know, this was my diagnostic journey.

And my husband and I went grocery shopping. We use humor a lot, and give each other a lot of grief as coping mechanisms. We were coming out of the store and he was pushing the cart, and I’m in my wheelchair and I decide to be sassy. And I look over at him and I said, “I’ll race you.” And he’s like, “Bet.”

So I start going and he starts pushing the cart. And right before we get to the van, he cuts me off. So he wins. And there … And there’s this old couple that are walking up and they’re just looking and they’re like, “I can’t believe he just did that.” And laughing and just, you know, having a good time.

But it definitely solidified how we make the best out of the situation and the hand that we’ve been given, and that is through humor and finding ways to have fun.

And, you know. Yeah. By the time I was in my late 20s, I was in a wheelchair and we didn’t know why. I got married in my wheelchair. I have pictures of my son pushing me down the aisle.

That was kind of what set us down that path of using humor and being sassy and the snark and, you know, just having fun with it. And rolling with it.