The Whispered Roar
— Shawna Barnes

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 reality for several months now. Last week, I wrote about indulging…

For the first time in a while, I decided to do something that was low maintenance but would help me feel like the “old Shawna.” My thought process was good: I’d practice self-care by taking the afternoon to myself, first going out to lunch and then getting a set…

My husband, Justin, works in fitness. Six months ago he opened a small-group personal training gym in our little Wisconsin town, and he’s been working to grow his membership, which now includes me. Something Justin talks about often with clients — while he’s discussing training, nutrition, or other lifestyle…

Snow in September? Last week I got a new tattoo. The session was my husband’s gift for our anniversary this year. I told the tattoo artist that I wanted something to mark my myasthenia gravis (MG): a snowflake with the color teal, incorporated into some sort…

When living with myasthenia gravis (MG), sometimes even the simplest tasks, such as choosing a hairstyle, can feel like climbing Mount Everest. Today, I’m diving into the world of hair — short and long — and how each style can affect one’s daily life. I’ve rocked both —…

I’ve never been one to be afraid of insects of any kind. Growing up as a farm kid and then becoming mom to a boy helped rid me of all “ickiness” factors of the sort. Until the end of August, that is. I was outside The Nook (my business),…

I’m not ignoring you. I’m just ignoring the chance to talk to you on the phone. Cue phone ringing beside me. I look at caller ID and identify that it’s not an emergency. *send to voicemail* Then I wait and see if the caller actually leaves a voicemail or tries…

I’ve never understood how other people with myasthenia gravis (MG) can live in warm climates. One of the things that exacerbates my MG symptoms the most is heat. This summer, I’ve taken it upon myself to use all the tools I’ve acquired over the last 10 years…

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone tells you they’re “doing the carnivore diet”? If you’re like my husband, who works in the fitness world, it might just be an eye roll. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, it might be disgust. What if I told…

“Review scientific articles only and summarize the content to explain what treatments are available for a person with myasthenia gravis experiencing breathing difficulties due to diaphragm and intercostal weakness.” This was the question I posed to Microsoft’s Copilot software, the company’s version of ChatGPT, both of…

The past 12 months have been eye-opening for me, bringing opportunities to accept hard truths about my mortality and independence while living with myasthenia gravis (MG). Both of my husband’s parents passed away in the span of just 18 months: his father on Halloween in 2022 and his…

The first time I heard those dreaded words, “You have myasthenia gravis” (MG), I felt such relief. That was quickly followed by an intense desire to learn everything I could about the condition. One of my biggest motivating factors was a strong desire to prove wrong the doctors who’d…