The Whispered Roar
— Shawna Barnes

I admit it. I’m a nerd. I like the science gobbledygook. I thoroughly enjoy digging into the PubMed catalog of biomedical articles, part of the National Center for Biotechnology Information. But even…

“Disabled.” It’s a word with many meanings that trigger a gamut of feelings. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is considered a rare and disabling disease. It qualifies those of us who have it to collect…

Makeup is one of those things that we women use to “put our face on,” so to speak. But when we start having trouble holding our arms up due to myasthenia gravis…

For the first time in a long time, I was frustrated with care that I had received. I recently had to go to a hospital emergency room, where, unfortunately, I didn’t feel that I…

If you were given the gift of nine extra hours a week, what would you do? This was the situation my husband and caregiver, Justin, and I found ourselves in last week. In…

Stepping out of the phone booth, I put my glasses on and look around to make sure I’m not spotted. I look to the left and then to the right one more time before…

Are you seeing double? I was. And I still do if I push myself to a certain level of weariness. When I first experienced double vision, I thought that either my crappy vision was…

Q: What is myasthenia gravis (MG)? A: It’s a neuromuscular autoimmune disease. Q: What is a neuromuscular autoimmune disease? A: It’s when your immune system attacks the junction where nerve cells meet…

“A service-connected condition means an illness or injury that was caused by — or got worse because of — your active military service.” Did you know that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, also…

Love. It’s a four-letter word that can mean a hundred different things, depending on how and where it’s used. One of the things that sets my husband, Justin, and I apart from some…

It was 11:50 p.m. Wednesday night, and I was just getting ready to head up to bed after a long, frustrating day at the office. Meetings that ran late and frustrating tech issues…

Last week, I was asked to respond to “Tell me about yourself” as it related to my disabilities and the help I needed around the house. The request came during an intake meeting to have…