“Definition of chronic pain: being constantly in pain. Yes, constantly. Every single second. The person is smiling? Still in pain. The person doesn’t mention it? Still in pain. The person says ‘I’m fine.’ Still in pain.” — Unknown Chronic pain has been my constant companion for the…
Together — Mark Harrington
A Boston native, Mark has spent 25 years on the faculty of the Dallas Independent School District. A believer that what Hanna Arendt termed “the life of the mind” is the richest gift we give the young, Mark continues to find inspiration and joy in teaching. Mark has been published in The Dallas Morning News, The Boston Globe, and various professional publications. His classes have been featured on KERA, the local public television station. Mark knows the MG journey is not solitary. Blessed with wonderful, loving family and friends, he hopes his writing will assist others as they navigate life with myasthenia gravis.
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Once upon a time, I was constantly on the go. From the moment my feet hit the ground each morning, I never stopped. Then myasthenia gravis (MG) entered my life and work became impossible, so I retired. After that, many of the activities that once filled my days vanished.
“Sometimes you will be in control of your illness and other times you’ll sink into despair, and that’s OK! Freak out, forgive yourself, and try again tomorrow.” — Kelly Hemingway I remember when I first read the myth of Sisyphus. I thought it’d be awful to work diligently at…
“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” — Luke 18:16 As a teacher, this Bible passage always resonates with me. Last November, I traveled back home to Maine…
Here in the United States, the richest nation in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product, medical expenses are the No. 1 cause of bankruptcy. People in the rare disease community are well aware of this and among the hardest hit. Seven years ago, I went…
Around age 5, I began having difficulty walking. A couple of times a day I would get a strange, pins-and-needles sensation in my right leg. I was young and didn’t think much of it. When my parents became aware, they were concerned. Multiple doctors told us not to worry. My…
In the book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl writes, “If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.” A…
On March 4, 1933, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told a fearful nation that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Roosevelt’s words didn’t immediately end the financial chaos in the U.S. at…
“I’d trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday.” The soulfulness of Janis Joplin’s voice and poignancy of Kris Kristofferson’s lyrics in “Me and Bobby McGee” have always resonated with me. The despair and longing are raw. Is there any return from that wasteland? Against my…
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