I vaguely remember the day at the emergency room where I had trouble with my double vision and my heart rate was around 160/100. Before the doctors found the cause, it had slowly begun to affect my upper body strength. This definitely won’t be good news for a second chair violinist that will soon have a UIL competition. I cried in front of the mirror for hours when my fingers were too weak to press against the strings. However, I just couldn’t give up without trying. So the second the doctors told me there’s no cure, I begged the doctors at the hospital to release me from the hospital so I can get to play my last piece with my classmates before my body gives up. That day of the competition, I went there and played my best on stage. I still remembered how I was wearing an eye patch with an anime character eye drawn by my best friend as a lucky charm. And honestly…I feel like it worked. I’ve never ever done anything as brave as going on stage and playing in front of the judges for the first time and with this new “look” I have. But I was pretty sure my charms got the judges and we won the sweepstakes award! Now this was before my disease started to progress throughout my body. Then in August I done another brave thing which was thymectomy. A surgery that says had a 30% make my disease to go into remission. This is my first major surgery and it left a big scar on my neck but I was always happy to showcase it because I know this is a part of my journey in life.

Myasthenia gravis changed my life completely ever since that one normal, Sunday afternoon. It took a lot of things away from me, this includes my vision, my strength in walking, eating, swallowing, and breathing. However, myasthenia also pushed me to become the person I am today. On May 31, 2021, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis. Looking back to when I first started receiving the treatments, I realized all the priceless lessons and gifts myasthenia gravis have given me. Thanks to Myasthenia gravis, I was able to realize the gratitude of having a loving and caring mom and older sister, the most supportive group of friends, and a dad who would not hesitate to take the bullet for me. The path to recovery is arduous, but with all the love and support, I am able to use it as a weapon and shield to fight back any challenges and obstacles. Thanks to myasthenia gravis, I was able to realize my undying passion for music. 3 days after being sent to the ER, I insisted on returning to school to join the orchestra for the UIL contest as a 2nd chair first violinist, and we were able to win “Sweepstakes Award.” Myasthenia gravis has been pushing me to reach my fullest potential and realize my own capability and this became a powerful belief that pushed me to make the decision to perform the surgery called “thymectomy”. On August 11th, 2021, I was pushed to the operation room, smiling, feeling proud of what I have accomplished since back in April. For the record, it took me a few days to breathe without support, 3 weeks to swallow hard food, 2 months to walk by myself, 4 months to talk and eat without holding my jaw up.

Myasthenia gravis changed my life completely ever since that one normal, Sunday afternoon. It took a lot of things away from me, this includes my vision, my strength in walking, eating, swallowing, and breathing. However, the one thing that myasthenia didn’t take away from me is my optimism. On May 31, 2021, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis and was immediately admitted to Texas Children’s Memorial Hospital. Looking back to when I first started receiving the treatments, I realized all the valuable and priceless lessons and gifts myasthenia gravis have given me. Thanks to Myasthenia gravis, I was able to be grateful about having a caring mom and older sister, the most supportive group of friends, and a dad who would not hesitate to take the bullet for me. With all the love and support, I am able to use it as a weapon and shield to fight back any challenges and obstacles. Thanks to myasthenia gravis, I was able to realize my undying passion for music. 3 days after being sent to the ER, I insisted on returning to school to join the orchestra for the UIL contest as a 2nd chair first violinist, and we were able to win “Sweepstakes Award.” Myasthenia gravis taught me a lesson about perseverance and this pushed me to make the decision to perform the surgery called “thymectomy”. On August 11th, 2021, I was pushed to the operation room, smiling, feeling proud of what I have accomplished since back in April. For the record, it took me a few days to breathe without support, 3 weeks to swallow hard food, 2 months to walk by myself, 4 months to talk and eat without holding my jaw up.

Myasthenia gravis changed my life completely ever since that one normal, Sunday afternoon. It took a lot of things away from me, this includes my vision, my strength in walking, eating, swallowing, and breathing. However, myasthenia also taught me a key lesson about perseverance. I got pushed to the emergency room from school on April 18, 2021, the doctor said my double vision, or “ binocular diplopia”, is untreatable. On May 31, 2021, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis. I was able to overcome the fear of the various tests and lab works with the acknowledgment that the path to recovery is arduous, but with each and every trial and failure, I am a step toward breaking through the cocoon of worries and negative thoughts and transforming into a butterfly. Myasthenia gravis has been pushing me to reach my fullest potential and realize my own capability and this became a powerful belief that pushed me to make the decision to perform the surgery called “thymectomy” in which I was being told that ⅓ of the patients can recover completely. On August 11th, 2021, I was pushed to the operation room, smiling, knowing that even if I’m not one of the lucky ⅓ of the people who fully recovered, I’m still proud of what I have accomplished since back in April. For the record, it took me a few days to breathe without support, 3 weeks to swallow hard food, 2 months to walk by myself, 4 months to talk and eat without holding my jaw up. In the present day, I’ll continue to fight till the day that I cross over the finish line and win against Myasthenia gravis.