Together — Mark Harrington

Since 2020, I’ve been traveling along the myasthenia gravis (MG) road. Sometimes it’s filled with pain, as it was in 2021. We don’t usually think of MG as a physically painful disease. However, the effects of one of the main drugs used to control it, prednisone, can cause…

Chef Marco Pierre White once observed that “a chef’s palate is born out of his childhood, and one thing all chefs have in common is a mother who can cook.” My mother wasn’t fond of cooking, and while she had a palate for only the best food, my dad…

1 Kings 19 tells the story of the prophet Elijah’s search to encounter God. Elijah looks for God in a great and powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but has no success until he hears a “gentle whisper.” It turns out that God’s presence is quiet and…

Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love” — which she’d originally recorded in 1373 — was first published in 1670. Still in print, this classic of Christian mysticism has influenced unknowable numbers of readers, myself included. I’d like to share how this book has affected my personal philosophy and…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with several medications, including Ultomiris (ravulizumab-cwvz). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Ecclesiastes 3:15 (KJV) reads in part, “That which hath been is now; and that which is to…

Published in 1759, Voltaire’s satirical novella “Candide” follows the adventures of its protagonist as he travels the world. Along the way, Candide encounters the suffering, misfortune, and ambiguity that is characteristic of human life. A college philosophy course was my introduction to this masterpiece. I can visualize myself walking across…

Throughout history, we can find examples of people getting things wrong. In 1903, a banker said, “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty — a fad.” Science once accepted that cigarettes helped relieve stress and that germs were an idiotic concept. What we know…

Recently I noticed that expressing gratitude results in a change in my body. It’s hard to put into words, but I feel warm and peaceful. Something is different — better. I decided to investigate this phenomenon. I wanted to know if the symptoms of myasthenia gravis (MG) are…

When I attended a college staffed by Augustinians, five theology courses were required for an undergraduate diploma. Those classes helped me develop a mature understanding of religion and spirituality. Back then, I couldn’t know that one day I’d find a valuable lesson in the work of the four Evangelists, other…

In the Sept. 24 article “Y’all Vs. Ya’ll: Here’s How To Spell It” in Southern Living, the author Grace Haynes writes, “The South is known for its laundry list of unique, quirky, cultural sayings, like ‘Bless your heart,’ ‘Too big for his britches,’ and ‘Well, I s’wanee,’ to name…

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, king of Corinth, offends the gods and is sentenced to spend eternity rolling a stone up a mountain, only to have it roll back down just as it reaches the top. The punishment doled out to Sisyphus is horrifying. How awful it is to…

Early this month, I spent the seven most stressful and challenging days of my life. Stress of that sort — financial and physical — can severely affect my myasthenia gravis (MG) symptoms. This column is my call for comfort to those in the MG and other rare disease…