Author: Lance Garrison
By Marcia Lorimer, as told to Hallie LevineI’ve lived with myasthenia gravis for 65 years. I was diagnosed when I was 10. Up until then, I was a very active child who went from playing every sport imaginable to suddenly feeling constantly exhausted. I began to choke on food, slurred my speech, and developed droopy eyes. This was back in the 1950s, so after my family doctor couldn’t find anything wrong, he suggested that I might be seeking attention. At first my parents just thought I could be trying to mimic Marilyn Monroe. It took several months — and one…
By now, you probably know a lot about George Santos, the congressman who scammed with abandon and made up almost everything. His college diploma. His grandparents who “survived” the Holocaust. Many of his most egregious untruths were unveiled by The New York Times last December. This week, the House Ethics Committee went even further, reporting that he had used campaign money for Atlantic City trips and things marked “Botox.”This most recent round of investigative revelations prompted Mr. Santos to say he won’t run for re-election, as his fellow House members try once again to expel him. But the fact that…
By Bob Averack, as told to Hope CristolI became an advocate for myasthenia gravis (MG) the hard way. I was diagnosed in 2006, a time before technology connected people like it does today. So, I went through a lot of trial and error when it came to managing MG.For a while, every time I came up against a trigger, it felt like getting hit on the head with a 2×4. I’m a strong dude who didn’t want MG to dictate how I’d live my life. But MG said to me, “Oh yeah? Well, I’m stronger than you.”The moment when the…
Ever since the pandemic, when rates of teenage suicide, anxiety and depression spiked, policymakers around the world have pushed to make mental-health resources more broadly available to young people through programming in schools and on social media platforms.This strategy is well intentioned. Traditional therapy can be expensive and time-consuming; access can be limited. By contrast, large-scale, “light touch” interventions — TikTok offerings from Harvard’s School of Public Health, grief-coping workshops in junior high — aim to reach young people where they are and at relatively low cost.But there is now reason to think that this approach is risky. Recent studies…
By Ericka Greene, MD, director of the Neuromuscular Clinic at Houston Methodist Hospital, as told to Kara Mayer RobinsonMany things can impact life with myasthenia gravis (MG). Everyone’s experience is unique, but here are some things that may affect yours.Health DisparitiesAs with many medical conditions, health care disparities, also called social determinants of health, can affect your quality of care. Things like socioeconomic status, gender, immigration status, ethnic background, and even ZIP code may play a role in the care you receive.For example, insurance issues and financial struggles may make it harder to get a diagnosis, treatment, or emergency care.…
David Axelrod is not a prick.Truly.I’ve known him since 2007 and if I had to pick a noun to describe him, it would be mensch.So when President Biden privately employs that epithet for Axelrod, according to Politico’s Jonathan Martin, it’s bad for a few reasons.The ordinarily gracious president is punching down at the strategist who helped elevate him onto the ticket with Barack Obama in 2008 and who thinks he was “a great vice president” and has done a lot of wonderful things as president.When some in the Obama camp chattered in 2011 about switching Biden out for Hillary Clinton,…
Myasthenia gravis finances: What to expect, what to plan for, how to navigate insurance, where to find financial assistance.
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions.michelle cottleIs there a lot of footage of him without a shirt on? Because I’ll tune in for that.ross douthatThere is a fair amount —carlos lozadaMichelle. HR.ross douthat— of footage —michelle cottleOoh.ross douthat— of him —carlos lozadaHR is on the case.michelle cottleHe does not work for The New York Times, Carlos.[MUSIC PLAYING]carlos lozadaFrom New York Times Opinion, I’m Carlos Lozada.michelle cottleI’m Michelle Cottle.ross douthatI’m Ross…
Nov. 17, 2023 – Army Reserve veteran Selina Jackson has years of combat experience … off the battlefield. Growing up in what she refers to as a combat zone in upstate New York, Jackson often witnessed brutal fights between her parents that would leave her mother unconscious on the floor. She observed her alcoholic, drug-addled father savagely beat her older sister more times than she cares to remember. She was repeatedly sexually abused by the teenage son of her parents’ best friends. Her father burned down their home. And yet, she kept these traumatic, often life-threatening events secret, until, that is, the COVID-19…
The Economic Innovation Group, a public policy group, has floated the notion of a “chipmakers visa” that would be auctioned off to semiconductor manufacturers in need. There would be 10,000 new visas each year for 10 years, with recipients being put on a smooth path to a green card when their visas expire. (The visas would last five years and be renewable once.)That may seem like a lot of foreign workers, but in the long run, the group says, temporarily relying on help from abroad will create more chipmaking jobs for Americans, not fewer. The use of an auction is…