Shawna N.M. Barnes is a writer, accessible website designer, and disabled veteran living in Cable, Wisconsin, with her husband. She was diagnosed with seronegative generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2018 after seven years of advocating for herself within the VA’s medical system. She hopes that through her transparency, bluntness, and no-nonsense way of writing about life with her disease that she can help others see that there is hope after an MG diagnosis. Sometimes, we just have to get out of our own way to live our best lives.
Have you ever experienced a period of your life when the universe seemed to be sending signals that were subtle at first, but then — bam! — they were in your face and hard to ignore? That’s been my…
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Last month, I began experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. My husband had tested positive two days before that, but we thought I might get lucky because I was fully vaccinated and boosted. Alas, it was not to be, as…
I wrote last week about how the inaction and silence of others can be deafening. The opposite is also true. When help is offered and the offer is followed up on, it can leave you speechless, humbled, and…
One of the hardest things about living with a chronic illness like myasthenia gravis (MG) is the dialogue that doesn’t happen with people we know. The eye rolls we perceive when we try to update loved ones about our…
Many of my friends, colleagues, and family members set goals for the year in January. Goals can be personal or professional, interpersonal or financial, realistic or not. What makes a goal realistic, particularly for someone with myasthenia gravis (MG)?…
Welcome to “The Whispered Roar,” a column where I will describe what it’s like living with a neuromuscular autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis (MG). I was officially diagnosed with generalized MG in 2018, although I had been battling…
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