The Mystery Of Myasthenia Gravis

I must admit when I first heard the name Myasthenia Gravis I thought it was something taken from a soup can. I have now come to realize that this disease can be a debilitating and controlling to many people. I was introduced to the effects of Myasthenia Gravis when my colleague told me about her condition. If one was to observe Shauna Tomlinson you would think everything seemed perfectly fine. She suffers in silence like many people who fights this quiet and incurable disease. Myasthenia Gravis or MG is a condition that affects all the muscles in the body, and causes extreme fatigue. People with MG may have symptoms that include drooping eyelid, blurred or double vision, slurred speech, difficulty chewing and swallowing, weakness in the arms and legs, chronic muscle fatigue, and difficulty breathing.

Shauna first knew something was wrong back in high school when she constantly felt fatigued and unable to keep up with her assignments. When asked what it was like Shauna states,"It was a very difficult time because no one knew exactly what was wrong with me". She goes on to say, "Everyone thought I was just lazy and didn't want to do what was required of me". What Shauna and her family didn't realize at the time was that she was showing early symptoms of MG that lies dormant in the blood stream. People are born with Myasthenia Gravis but it fails to rear its ugly head until later in life. The first symptoms that Shauna saw was when she began to have eye spasms and twitching. At the age of twenty she was taken to the hospital to figure out what was happening to her. Some doctors thought that she was showing signs of Lupus or a brain tumor. After constantly getting an indefinite diagnosis from the doctors, Shauna's mother insisted that someone find out what was wrong with her little girl. Shauna said, "My mother was my hero because she would not give up until someone came up with a definite answer about what was going on with me". She states, "People always believed I am a mommy's girl, but what they failed to see or understood was that my mother was and is still the only one who fully understands what I go through on a daily basis."

While some of us were partying and having a good time in college Shauna had to make a choice due to MG. Doing both was not an option for her because she was unable to do so. MG takes over the body and creates enormous fatigue so studying and graduating was the only thing to do. While studying in Wisconsin, Shauna received a large support from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. One person in particular that helped her tremendously was George Norwood. "Mr. Norwood was an angel", according to Shauna, "He gave me overwhelming support in making sure I received help to get through school". Mr. Norwood provided her with books on tapes so that she wouldn't have to read all those textbooks. He also provided her with a laptop and other necessities to make her college experience a little more easier. Shauna remembers how Mr. Norwood reacted when they first came in contact. She exclaimed, "He had no idea what MG was but his attitude was I am going to give you all the help you need so that you can get through college."

Although Shauna is now living a productive life at 29, she takes several medication to combat this silent disease. She takes Prednisone, Cellcept, and Mestinon. All these medications comes with their own side effects which she also has to deal with. She also struggles with fears brought on by Myasthenia Gravis. Dating can be fun but also tiring on her. Some guys when they get to know her and her condition sometimes find it to be too much. They don't know how to react because they have never heard or known anyone with MG. Sometimes she fears that she may not be able to work up to her retirement age because getting worse and being unable to work is a reality for her. She also fear that someday when she does get married that having kids and a spouse will be something that she will have a hard time dealing with because of her condition.

Shauna Tomlinson is a fighter and a woman with gifts from the Lord to do amazing things. She is an incredible teacher that provides her students with an exciting and yet challenging classroom. There are days when MG rears its ugly head and she would smile and give herself fully to educating her students. I no longer believe that this is something she made up from a soup can, but an actually disease that cripples many worldwide, and some who are unaware or misdiagnosed.