Loooong before myasthenia gravis (MG) came into the picture, Cathie’s mom used to joke that Cathie must be part fish.
She was always in the water. It started with swimming lessons at the YMCA, the Tot Swim team, and ultimately, her college swim team. Swimming was a way of life and the way Cathie kept fit.
It was during one of her warm ups when Cathie first noticed something was off. She hadn’t even gotten to the “tough stuff” when her hand just didn’t feel quite right. Her fingers wouldn’t cup together. Her toes weren’t flexing correctly. This was her warm up, she couldn’t blame it on too many laps or muscle cramps. Something wasn’t right.
It was Cathie’s husband who insisted she see her doctor, as she was being impacted in other ways too—drooping eyelids, trouble swallowing, and slurred speech. It wasn’t long before her doctor delivered the news—Cathie’s had myasthenia gravis (or MG), a neuromuscular disease.
Myasthenia gravis occurs in both men and women, and is neither inherited or contagious. It causes weakness in the skeletal muscles, responsible for breathing and movement of the arms and legs.
There is no cure, but with available therapies most cases are not as “grave” as the name indicates.
For Cathie, she decided there was no way MG was going to keep her on dry land.
After checking with her doctor, she’s simply changed up her swimming routine. Now, she enjoys the freedom of floating in the water, rather than pushing to finish a set number of laps. She takes part in water aerobics at the same YMCA where she learned to swim.
The water workouts put very little stress on her joints, and double as a social activity to catch up on what’s going on. She also uses the “buddy system” whenever she swims, to ensure her safety, and is careful not to push herself too hard, as she tires easily. When MG causes her neck to ache, Cathie has a solution. She uses a snorkel to help her get full breaths while working on her strokes.
