Quote:
Originally Posted by jana
I don't know if THIS might be a factor.................
My MG doc also works at the MDA clinic AND treats ALS patients. I LOVE this doc -- he has been mighty kind to me.
BUT, if I " compare" myself to the other non-MG patients he sees, I would have to admit that my problems/symptoms seem "mild". I have sat in his waiting room...........other patients in wheelchairs, with walkers, hooked up to oxygen, not able to hold their heads up.........makes ME count my blessings! I REMIND myself all the time -- MGers are probably the most "normal" patients my doc sees.
My headache neuro sees a LOT of stroke and MS patients. In comparison, I probably look/seem pretty healthy to him, too.
When someone talks about "normal" -- I AM able to walk, feed myself, dress myself, breathe "regular" air, sleep in a regular bed....actions that MS, MD, ALS often don't allow. Perhaps a doctor's definition of living a "normal life" considers these things.  |
Hi Jana –
Talking of ´normal´ but in a
different setting I thought you might enjoy this little paragraph - I stumbled upon this and thought it precious in some ways - especially the last sentence….
´Sarah of Washington wrote: “I’m really confused by the fact that these young women didn’t realize they were weak even though one couldn’t do more than one sit-up and the other couldn’t lift a gallon of milk.” Many readers felt equally bewildered. But Anon from New York wrote about the perceptions of those with chronic diseases: “When you live with your own ‘normal’ (which may be wholly abnormal), you take for granted everyone else feels that way, too. . . . If it is all you have ever known, you can see why it would be something a patient might not mention.” For the parents, it would have taken an enormous leap to imagine that their seemingly healthy daughters could have something seriously wrong with them. Often, what we see in our children defines our understanding of normal. This family, like many who live with chronic diseases, have come to understand that there are at least two kinds of normal — one for them and one for everyone else.´
From here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/ma...agnosis-t.html
Have a cool day
Anacrusis