Jasmine Nathan shares how she manages myasthenia gravis (MG) during the holidays by treating her energy like a budget, choosing only one or two meaningful activities, and being honest with loved ones when rest needs to come first. She reflects on frustration, family support, and the importance of living for herself — even when symptoms make plans unpredictable.
Transcript
My name is Jasmine Nathan, and I am from D.C., and I have myasthenia gravis.
Balancing my MG commitment with the type of holidays and festivities, I always think of my MG like a budget, so I always try to think about how much I can spend on my budget. So, I always try to make sure that I let my family and friends know that, you know, make them aware of how much energy I may or may not have during that time frame.
And nine times out of 10, I always have to get some type of nap in during that time to make sure that I have enough energy to spend, and if they are doing multiple things throughout that time, I like to at least pick a couple of things I can do during the day. And by couple, I mean maybe one activity. And then, you know, I have to rest at that time, and then maybe we can think about something else.
Sometimes I have to be really realistic with myself. If I can’t make it to a holiday event, I will be honest with my family and tell them that I truly cannot make it to the event. And there are times when I am sad because that has happened to me before, where I could not absolutely make it because I was just too tired, or I had weakness, or, you know, I didn’t want to risk it. And I was afraid to, you know, get on the road and drive, and my eyes just didn’t work there.
There was a moment when I had that. There were times when, you know, I couldn’t make it to a dinner, or, you know, or I did make it to a dinner, and I just couldn’t, you know, really see. And sometimes that can get very frustrating.
So, you know, there are times where you may or may not try to push yourself, but, you know, you also have to be careful with that because, you know, you do want to spend time with your family, but, you know, you always have to tell yourself that, you know, if you have that kind of family that really, truly understands and respects you, they’re going to tell you that, you know, “it’s OK. You know, we’re always going to be here for you, and, you know, regardless of what happens, we’re always going to support you and have your back.”
And I have that kind of support and that family that will do that for me.
So I would definitely say when it comes to enjoying your holiday season, I will always say the tip right there is to enjoy your holiday season. Like why not?
Just because, and I always say this on my page and when I’m talking to people, just because you have any type of chronic illness, any type of anything, and I say this with all due respect, it doesn’t mean that you have to live in that space all the time.
You know, I respect anybody with a chronic illness, but I do also say, you know, I always try moments to live for Jasmine. You know, when I got hospitalized the first time when I was diagnosed, I told myself that I would live each and every day.
I’m not going to just say I have MG and that’s it, and I’m just going to be done. You know, I take care of myself, I respect myself, I make sure that I have everything I need, but I’m not going to let anything, you know, stop me from just being me.
So I will say to anybody out there, you should do exactly the same. Live for yourself, enjoy your family, have a good time. And if that doesn’t happen, there’s always FaceTime. There’s always Zoom. There’s always everything. You can always be on the phone with your family. Why not, you know, have a good time. Live it up.
