I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5 KJV
As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord
On my resources page I have a link to a site about a disease, Myasthenia Gravis. I have only just heard of this disease in the past few months. A friend of my sister has been diagnosed and is being treated for it. His story started out with what seemed to be just an eye problem. As he said it, he thought he was going blind. He was having double vision and couldn't seem to keep his eyes open. After a while, at the urging of his wife he made an appointment with an eye doctor.
The doctor concluded that his problem was one of three things, a brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, or Myasthenia Gravis. MG, as it is called for short, can be treated he was told. After several tests the doctor was able to confirm it was in fact Myasthenia Gravis. After being diagnosed he joined a MG support group. It was there he learned that alot of doctors don't know anything about MG and he was lucky that he went to one that did. Alot of people suffer with their symptoms for YEARS without treatment because they have a hard time figuring out what is wrong. The Lords hand was definitely in all of this, helping him to get the help and treatment he needed.
This friend had been active in the Air Force and has had a fairly active life until the MG took hold. He even had aspirations of becoming a Deputy Sheriff. He now has a desk job at a jail and with the support of family and friends he is coping with his condition. He has good days and bad, sometimes it seems the bad outweigh the good.
I felt the need to share this story, because this man is one of countless others that battle this disease and others that are not plastered on the TV screen with ads and fundraisers. There are many people dealing with conditions that are totally unheard of until they find out they have it. I hope that after reading this mans story you will be motivated to do some research of your own, either by using the link on my resources page to learn more about MG or any number of other websites online to learn more about this and other diseases.
"On my good days, I hardly even know I have the disease as long as I am careful about not over exerting myself. On my bad days, I just lay there on the couch and answer to the name of 'Lumpy' because I have no energy and am weak.
Yes, it has definatly affected my work attendance. Luckily I have a very understanding boss and a good amount of sick and vacation days per year. I also tend to try and avoid the ruff and tumble aspect of my job these days in favor of the more technical and computer related tasks. I'll still get in there if I have to, but I try to avoid getting too physical for obvious reasons.
If didn't take my medication and pushed myself way too hard, yes this could be life threatening. Mostly because it can affect the muscles that control breathing and, if left unchecked, could cause me to stop doing what I do best-breathe. I've only had one real scare with my breathing and had to spend the night in the hospital for observation, but luckily it turned out not to be MG related. My standing orders from my neurologist are to head straight to the ER if I'm having any type of difficulty breathing.
The medication I take is some nasty stuff. I take an immunosuppressant called Imuran that I have to get blood test for to make sure it's not killing my liver. I'm on Prednisone which is a corticosteroid to help regulate my immune system and that makes my cranky, fat and messes with my blood sugar. I'm also taking Mestinon which really messes with my stomach. If I don't eat enough when I take it, I double up in pain and spend a lot of time in the bathroom. I've had one trip to the ER because of the Mestinon. The good news to all this stuff is that the Imuran is finally starting to work and I don't have as many bad days, and the ones I have are less severe than they used to be."