'The sun will shine again tomorrow'
She has been navigating the auto-immune disease for 60 years and her optimism and 'young' soul is an inspiration to many.
‘Tomorrow the sun will shine again’Carol du Plessis (83) from Tsumeb was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis at the young age of 23 after giving birth to her son. At the time she struggled with blurry vision, slurred speech , trouble swallowing and difficulty walking. After treatment and as the years went by, her symptoms improved. Today she still has difficulty walking and suffers from fatigue. Carol feels anxious without her brown bottle of Mestinons as she calls it.
“I’m very good at listening to my body and maintaining boundaries. When I’m exhausted, I rest and don’t exert myself too much. This helps me to manage my MG. Carol never travels without her bottle of Mestinons and whenever she feels weak, she takes a tablet. Whenever she visits a doctor, Carol always mentions that she suffers from MG and tries to educate them about the disease, as according to her, most don’t really know much about it. She is therefore also very careful with regard to any procedures done on her. Through the years Carol worked as an office clerk, accountant and a legal secretary, retiring at the age of 60. Her late husband always assisted her, but sadly passed on from Hepatitis. Carol’s friends knew about her MG-diagnosis and always lended a helping hand. Most days, she admits, she wishes she never had MG, but on the other hand learnt so well to live with it.
“I always say to myself ‘Cora, let’s keep our chins up. Tomorrow is a new day and the sun will shine again. We must be strong and try to overcome the side effects and symptoms of MG. We as the MG community must support one another.” - [email protected]
Did you know?
Symptoms
All forms of MG result in symptoms of muscle weakness and fatigue, but differ in terms of which muscles are affected and when the disease emerges.
STATS
Common myasthenia gravis triggers include:
stress and anxiety
fatigue and lack of sleep
infections, illness, and pain
hormonal changes, including those occurring during pregnancy or menstruation
extreme temperatures
certain medications or changes in medications.