Sue Klinger, 64

When were you diagnosed?

I was diagnosed almost 10 years ago. I was actually fortunate because I knew what myasthenia gravis was. I'm not sure why I knew, except that for some reason I was aware that the famous Aristotle Onassis had it.

How has it impacted your life?

I just wasn't able to do what I had always done, and I was surprised when I would feel down about that. At the same time it also allowed me to see that I had a tremendous amount of resilience.

What keeps you going?

Other patients—they are what keep me going. That and the fact that there are so many things that need to be done, for example, educating medical professionals and other providers. When I was first diagnosed, I met someone who really helped me and answered questions from the patient's perspective. That was very important to me. So what keeps me going is to be of help to other patients. I had someone who was there to talk to me when I needed that, and now I run a support group.