Thursday, June 21, 2001
Muscular malady has long lurked
in the shadows
By Brian Bethel
Reporter-News Staff Writer
Charles Nelson, in his own way equally as
famous as his brother, famous golfer Bryon Nelson, for years went
without ever hearing of myasthenia gravis.
"No one has ever heard of it until
they get the diagnosis," he said.
The 75-year-old former ACU professor, a
noted bass singer in operatic circles, has been battling the disease
for at least five years, though he has long since become accustomed
to ignorance about the condition.
"It's not something that has received
a lot of publicity."
Nelson and other area folks who suffer from
the debilitating condition - which literally means "grave
muscle weakness" - hope the first Myasthenia Gravis Golf
Classic, scheduled for June 30, will help change that.
Set to kick off at Diamondback Golf Club,
1510 E. Industrial Blvd., with registration at 7:30 a.m., the
tournament will raise money for the Northwest Texas Chapter of
the national Myasthenia Gravis Foundation.
"In my particular case, MG showed up
first as a difficulty in swallowing," Nelson said. "At
the end I couldn't even speak plainly and I was becoming incredibly
weak. It's a serious condition, but one that we are thankfully
learning more about each day."
June is Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month,
making it a perfect time for a public fund-raiser of this sort,
said Lajuana Miller, who heads the MG Foundation's Northwest Texas
Chapter.
"We really want to get the word out
about the disease, its symptoms, and what can be done to help
those who have it," she said. "I have it myself, so
I know firsthand the distress it can cause until it is successfully
diagnosed."
Like an old man
One morning, Randy Richardson woke up feeling
like an 80-year-old man. An avid body builder, he was still in
his 20s.
Like most individuals suffering from myasthenia
gravis, Richardson's problems actually started with his eyes.
His eyelids started drooping, and his vision began to blur at
first, then split into two almost perfect mirror images, stacked
one atop the other.
Visits to eye-care professionals failed
to pinpoint the cause of his malaise, and as the disease progressed,
both eyelids went from drooping to slamming disturbingly shut.
"I wasn't blind, but I may as well
have been," he said. "I ended up having a completely
unnecessary eye surgery in Dallas that, of course, didn't fix
the real problem."
The gravity of his situation was daunting.
"I felt like in some ways my life was
over," he said. "I knew I had a problem, and I knew
I had to do something about it quickly."
Eventually, Richardson learned the facts
about myasthenia gravis - everything from how the disease was
attacking his body to what he could do to control it.
"I felt such a sense of relief,"
he said. "I spent so much time worrying about what was wrong
with me. I almost gave up trying several times."
Treatments vary
Myasthenia gravis involves fluctuating levels
of weakness in commonly used muscles. Weakness occurs when the
nerve impulse does not adequately reach muscle cells. This is
caused when the chemicals that transmit signals from the nerve
cells to muscles are blocked by abnormal antibodies.
The disease and others like it may be associated
with tumors of the thymus (a tissue of the immune system). Other
immune system disorders may be at fault as well.
Symptoms include the aforementioned drooping
eyelids, double or blurred vision, slurred speech, difficulty
chewing and swallowing, weakness of the limbs and chronic muscle
fatigue.
Treatments vary. In extreme situations,
it can require having one's blood recirculated, as Nelson experienced.
Or it can require the removal of one's thymus, as in Richardson's
case. In other situations, however, cortiosteroids and specific
drug therapies are involved.
"I learned a lot through the process,
both about myself and of course about the disease," Richardson
said. "I've learned that if you have a health problem, it's
important to do your own research and take an active role in your
diagnosis.
"But if the information isn't out there,
then you may have to struggle."
When it comes to making certain that those
like Richardson and Nelson never have to undergo such a lengthy
process of diagnosis, events like the upcoming golf tournament
can make a real difference, Miller said.
"The money will be used to help inform
people about the disease," she said. "Most people really
haven't ever heard of MG until they've been told they have it.
We want to change that and to provide support to those who have
the disease.
"We want them to know they're not alone."
Golfer's delight
Whether you're just a fan or the world's
greatest golfer, the Myasthenia Gravis Golf Classic will hold
much interest.
Scheduled events include several "Hole-in-One"
contests for prizes ranging from a custom set of irons to a 2002
Buick Rendezvous.
All participants will be entered into a
drawing for tickets to the Byron Nelson Golf Classic in spring
2002. Many other prizes will be given, including two round-trip
airline tickets to Las Vegas.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with the
tournament itself starting about 8:30 a.m. Golfers may purchase
one Mulligan each. Registration fees are $100 for individual golfers,
and $400 for a team foursome. Businesses may become hole sponsors
for $100, and company team sponsors pay $500 for a package that
includes foursome and hole sponsorship.
Other on-course events include a longest
drive competition, a straightest drive competition and a closest
to the pin competition. Also, an auction featuring items such
as an autographed copy of Byron Nelson's autobiography and a hand-crafted
wooden golf cart are planned.
For more information, contact the Myasthenia
Gravis Foundation's Northwest Texas Chapter at (915) 554-7038
or by e-mail at nwtc@swconnect.com.
Contact wellness writer Brian
Bethel at 676-6739 or bethelb@abinews.com
Send a Letter to
the Editor about This Story
Start or Join A
Discussion about This Story
Send
the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend:
Copyright
©2001, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps.
Publications
|
