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Shawna resides in Maine with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. Her 19-year-old son recently relocated to North Dakota. Shawna is a disabled Army combat veteran, having served just shy of four years and with a deployment to Iraq under her belt. She manages multiple chronic conditions, including myasthenia gravis and chronic pain.
She hopes that her column, “The Whispered Roar,” will help others living with (or who have loved ones with) myasthenia gravis see that there is more to life than the disease and the limits it often sets. Shawna is thrilled to be a columnist with the publisher of this site, BioNews, so that she can continue to advocate for and lift up those living with MG.
It’s the last Monday of June. The last Monday of National Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month. Last week, I shared some tips for both myasthenics and our friends and family on how you can continue to turn awareness…
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Bulba what? Bulbar muscle group symptoms include losing the ability to speak — every man’s dream come true for his spouse, if ya believe all the comics, memes, and jokes. And it is something my husband and I…
“Nope. That needs to go in the other box, darling. Don’t forget to label it the way I showed you, please.” “I added dinner with your friends and a dump run to the calendar. Am I missing anything?” Any…
It’s 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, and I have been awake since 3 a.m. My deadline for turning in this column is less than four hours away. Why does this matter? I’ve been wanting to write about the tools that…
“It’s just anxiety.” “It’s just stress or PTSD.” “You just need more rest.” For many of us in the rare disease community, these comments aren’t uncommon. As someone with seronegative myasthenia gravis (MG), I hear them almost…
With a prevalence of 14-40 cases per 100,000 people in the U.S., myasthenia gravis (MG) is considered a rare disease. Plus, early-onset MG can mimic other diseases like multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and others. If a patient…
“Let’s talk about sex, baby/ Let’s talk about you and me/ Let’s talk about all the good things/ And the bad things that may be.” Am I aging myself by referencing a Salt-N-Pepa song? Maybe. But I think…
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…
Myasthenia Gravis News conducted a survey from Feb. 11-March 28 to gain greater insight into the characteristics of the MG community and disease management. Results of the survey have now been published. Click on the image to view the infographic, and click here to read the story.
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