Writing and performing music has always been Daniä Quill’s passion. The California-based singer/songwriter picked up the guitar at an early age and started performing in college, taking small gigs and singing in church.
After graduation, music took a back burner as she pursued a career as a pharmacist. But in 2019 everything changed when she lost her job.
Two years earlier, Daniä had been diagnosed with seronegative myasthenia gravis. Symptoms like weakness, shortness of breath, and dysautonomia meant she could no longer work a 9-5 job. Then the pandemic hit, leading to lockdowns and time to pursue old passions.
“I was kind of lost for a while, but I really wanted to record the music that I had written when I was in college,” Daniä shared. “I really hadn’t been playing my guitar because I could feel the weakening in my fingers. I just started playing it a little at a time, enough that I could chop up the chords that I was playing and then place them where they needed to go to play a whole song.”
Daniä started sourcing the right equipment, which included traditional recording equipment – and something very unique.
“To get my voice to work with me, I have a contraption in my closet recording studio, which helps me to lift my hands over my head.”
Lifting up her arms – with the contraption to hold them so she does not weaken her arm muscles – opens up her airways and lungs, allowing her to sing more easily.
Following a tip from a neurologist, who saw how short of breath she was at an appointment, she also uses a device to help train her respiratory muscles.
“Between those two things and insisting I continued playing my guitar regularly, it has gotten easier to where I can play a whole song.”
Daniä’s music is what she calls “lullaments” – a combination of lullabies and lamentations. They recognize life’s difficulties while providing a comforting balm to the listener.
“They are songs about struggles and how it’s going to be okay – that ultimately things will work out,” Daniä said.
For MG Awareness Month this June, Daniä collaborated with two other musicians living with MG to release a brand-new song. Her song, “Invisible People,” was produced by the MG Holistic Society and features vocals from Amy Zehner and Mika Filborne on piano, while Daniä plays guitar.
The song expresses the difficulty of living with a disease no one can see. Many individuals with myasthenia gravis have symptoms that others may not be able to perceive, like muscle weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and double vision.
It’s important to Daniä to raise awareness about her experiences and those of MG patients more broadly.
“It took two years for me to get a diagnosis because the doctors I interacted with didn’t really know MG. They had a couple of lectures on it in medical school or one patient with it and thought that represented everyone. Unfortunately, it does not.”
Daniä saw six neurologists before she found a neuromuscular specialist who was able to diagnose her. She hopes that raising awareness about the disease will help shorten the time to diagnosis by educating both the public and medical professionals.
“A lot more people could be in a lot less grief,” she shared.
While MG has changed her life, she finds strength in her ability to create and perform.
“MG is a huge barrier – it takes so much from us – but you’ve got to take it back. Don’t let it take away your joy. I started getting back to music one little bit at a time. It got easier as time went on, as I built up enough strength to play my guitar and sing my songs. You have to start somewhere. Slowly but surely, you build up those muscles and you build up the courage.”
Listen to “Invisible People” wherever you stream music or visit daniaquill.com.