For those who don’t know me, my name is Kathalina. I’m 28 years old, a registered nurse working in the emergency department and I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) in 2023. Two years ago, I shared my story to raise awareness. Today I am sharing a chapter that changed me forever.
A Joyous Beginning & a High-Risk Reality
Last January, I found out I was pregnant. After a miscarriage the year prior that positive test brought overwhelming joy, but also fear. Pregnancy with MG is considered high-risk. I had to stop the clinical trial I had been responding well to and brace myself for the unknown. I continued working full-time, 12-hour shifts in the ER, trying to hold onto normalcy. But as the weeks went on, the fatigue deepened. Routine tasks like brushing my hair or starting an IV at work became daily reminders of my limitations. By my second trimester, I was diagnosed with gestational hypertension. This was terrifying because if it progressed to preeclampsia, I wouldn’t be able to receive magnesium sulfate which is the treatment for preeclampsia due to my MG. My care became a constant balancing act.
The Breaking Point
By the third trimester, I was exhausted in a way I had never experienced. At 32 weeks and 4 days, everything changed. A routine non-stress test resulted in me being admitted to the hospital with the news that I wouldn’t be leaving without having my baby. Despite medications, my blood pressure wouldn’t stabilize. On August 9th, I was induced. Labor lasted nearly 48 hours. Even with my MG medications, my body felt like it was shutting down. I remember trying to raise my hand and it just fell, like it didn’t belong to me. I questioned my body. I questioned myself.
The Miracle of Strength
But somehow… my body kept going. I pushed for an hour and against every limitation, I delivered my daughter vaginally. It was such a surreal moment. The same body that felt so weak was strong enough to bring life into the world. My daughter was born at 33 weeks and spent 27 days in the NICU. Walking out of the hospital without her was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Yet every day I went back pouring whatever strength I had left into being her mom.
The Road to Recovery
Postpartum was not the relief I hoped for. I felt weak physically and emotionally, wondering if this exhausted version of me was who I would be from now on. It was lonely because so little is shared about the physical and mental weight of MG during pregnancy and postpartum. But slowly, I began to find pieces of myself and my strength again. My husband and family carried me through. Today, my daughter is 9 months old and healthy and I am back at work. I’m not 100% back to who I was before, but I am close and “close” feels like a victory.