The Whispered Roar
— Shawna Barnes

“I haven’t showered in a week. Can you come over and hang out so I can safely take one?” At 38 years old, these were not words I had anticipated having to string together for someone I’ve known for only six months. With my spouse as my…

“I wish I could stay home all day and take naps.” Does anyone else want to reach through your screen and give me a knuckle sandwich when you see that statement? Does it bring up an immediate negative reaction like anger? It used to for me, as well. Until I…

What do you do when life just gets to be too much? Too heavy? If you’re reading this, then I feel it’s safe to assume that you’re a fighter, so you likely do the same thing I do and just keep fighting, pushing forward. There is no throwing in of…

“My pet Fido makes me feel so much better. Where can I get him a service dog vest?” You can’t. Well, you can, but unless Fido is specifically trained to perform tasks related to your disability, you shouldn’t. And I’ll tell you why. I’ve had two trained service dogs since…

The caregiver. The parent. The big sister. The only child. The husband/wife/spouse. The honors student. The executive. The jock. The soldier. The patient. The flaky friend. The chronically ill. These are all titles and roles that society establishes for us, or we establish ourselves. We might be proud to…

Did you know that Sept. 21 is the International Day of Peace? The United Nations established it in 1981, and it’s celebrated every year on that day. When my world’s in chaos, as it’s been for the past several weeks (or months, really), do you know where I turn to…

Today I despise myasthenia gravis. I resent the eight years I had to fight for a diagnosis. I’m jealous of my able-bodied family members. But most of all, I loathe having myasthenia gravis. Some say there are seven stages of grief while other say there are five. Regardless…

It’s something I’ve always read about in my research on myasthenia gravis (MG). I’d always hoped it would never happen to me. I went so long trying to figure out MG that having to go down that road all over again is daunting. Quite frankly, I don’t want to…

When I first got out of the Army, I was unable to drive or take care of myself or my son, let alone work. I moved back in with my parents in July 2011 and met my now husband that October. I used as many Veterans Affairs programs as…

On Aug. 8, I had an appointment with a new neurologist. I was apprehensive about it because he would be the second neurologist I’d see at Veterans Affairs (VA) since our move to Wisconsin. I was quite happy with the neurologist I’d met when we got here, when I…

What do you do when after fighting for years you finally find a medical team that listens and a treatment plan that actually helps? Well, if you are anything like me, you take everything you know and safely push the boundaries as far as you can. Back in January,…

Last week my husband and I celebrated an anniversary on July 20. It wasn’t the anniversary of when we first met (that’s Oct. 15). It wasn’t our wedding anniversary (that’s coming up on Aug. 10). So what was so momentous that we acknowledge it every year? On July 20, 2016,…