Une histoire de santé sur la myasthénie grave : La formule de rémission de Cate malgré le stress de la vie
Par Laura Will
Cate’s Unexpected MG Diagnosis
Cate a su que quelque chose n'allait pas lorsqu'elle a commencé à avoir des difficultés à terminer les histoires qu'elle racontait à l'heure du coucher. Alors qu'elle faisait la lecture à sa petite fille, une faiblesse faciale s'installait. Elle était en bonne santé, ou du moins l'avait toujours été. Mais au cours des deux semaines qui ont suivi, la fatigue de la lecture du soir a progressé rapidement et l'a conduite aux soins intensifs, incapable de parler, d'avaler ou même de reprendre son souffle.
While terrifying at the time, the acute onset of her symptoms led to a relatively speedy diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis and initial treatment. She was placed on steroids and pyridostigmine: a two-pronged approach that inhibits the body’s inappropriate immune action in the neuromuscular junction and increases the amount of available acetylcholine. Cate’s body responded to this treatment, returning her muscle strength and stamina to a level with which she could baseline function.
Living with myasthenia gravis
Cate refers to MG as a “snowflake” disease. Each person has a unique presentation and response to medications. Cate feels lucky. Despite the limitations of her not-so-great health insurance, she was able to link up with a neurologist whose clinical interests focused on Myasthenia Gravis, and he was running a clinical trial that made a new, more targeted, treatment option available. Cate has now completed three rounds of this trial medication and has remained in remission since October 2022.
That being said, she is still working on weaning off of the steroids, still feeling the negative effects of being on them long-term, still in close contact with her neurology team, and still living in fear of a recurrence of symptoms. Outside of medical appointments, the last year has not been easy on a personal level. On top of navigating to remission, she has also navigated through a marital separation, moving homes, and often solo-parenting a toddler. Knowing that a major trigger for relapse is stress, she proactively scheduled drug infusions for the week after her move date. However, she was thrilled, and slightly surprised, at her body’s ability to remain stable through these turbulent times.
Pratiquer l'art de la pleine conscience
What’s her secret? It is how much she has focused on her mental health. She leaned into mindfulness practices, folding them into her work day and time spent parenting. She does breath work both on her own and with her toddler and takes relaxation time-outs together. She is open about seeing a therapist and taking a low-dose antidepressant, to keep the lows from getting too low. Remission is the goal of course, but it is still uncertain ground; and so, the key has been learning skills to live in uncertainty with grace, one breath at a time. Is it all rainbows and butterflies? No - but mental health practices help her acknowledge the fear and stress, and keep them from overwhelming what is good.
How do you remember what is good? Well, Cate has problem-solved that too with a daily gratitude practice, where she writes a list of everything she is grateful for that day. To hold herself accountable for this daily habit, she shares it with close friends.
C'est une chose étrange que la lutte ouvre le monde de la gratitude et de la compassion. Il existe un nombre incalculable de petites bénédictions et un nombre incalculable de personnes qui luttent contre les mêmes émotions désordonnées et les mêmes symptômes effrayants. Les habitudes qui soutiennent sa santé mentale sont allées au-delà du retour à l'ancienne version d'elle-même, avant les symptômes et avant la pleine conscience, la souffrance, la compassion et le soutien. Voici Cate 2.0.
About Cate
Cate worked for Hearst Magazines in New York City for about 8 years before moving to Los Angeles and beginning her freelance career as a prop stylist and set designer in 2021. Cate currently lives in Venice, CA with her 3-year-old daughter and two dogs. They spend much of their free time at the beach, Cate's favorite place for healing and relaxation, even when chasing a busy toddler around.
