Latest news with #SerbianAmerican
Sky News
7 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
Tennis legend Monica Seles 'learning to live with a new normal' after being diagnosed with rare disease
Nine-time Grand Slam tennis champion Monica Seles has revealed she is "learning to live with a new normal" after being diagnosed with a rare chronic neuromuscular disease three years ago. Seles was told she has myasthenia gravis (MG), a condition which causes muscle weakness, in 2022. The 51-year-old has told the Associated Press she first noticed the symptoms of the disease while she was playing tennis. The Serbian-American tennis great said: "I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, 'Yeah, I see two balls'. "These are obviously symptoms that you can't ignore. "And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot." Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, also experienced weakness in her arms and legs and said "just blowing my hair out... became very difficult". She said she had decided to speak publicly about her condition for the first time ahead of the US Open, which starts on 24 August, to raise awareness. America's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls it "a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles" and "most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60)" but ... can occur at any age, including childhood". It is an autoimmune disease - used to describe a condition where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells, tissues, and organs. The US National Institutes of Health has said it affects around 1 in 5,000 people. Seles, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009, said she'd never heard of the condition until she saw a doctor about her symptoms and was referred to a neurologist. "When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'," said Seles, who is partnering with argenx, an immunology company headquartered in the Netherlands, to promote their Go for Greater campaign which aims to help people with MG. "So this is where - I can't emphasise enough - I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it." It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 US Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. "The way they welcomed me... after my stabbing, I will never forget," Seles said about the fans in New York. "Those are the moments that stay with you." Seles said she is learning to live a "new normal" nowadays and characterised her health as another in a series of life steps that required her to adapt. She said: "I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset - hard reset - a few times. I call my first hard reset when I came to the US as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). Didn't speak the language; left my family. It's a very tough time. Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it's a reset, too, because the fame, money, the attention, changes (everything), and it's hard as a 16-year-old to deal with all that. Then obviously my stabbing - I had to do a huge reset."
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Richard Mell breaks silence on Rod Blagojevich's pardon, family feud: 'All in the past'
The Brief Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich received a full and unconditional pardon from Donald Trump this week. Blagojevich's father-in-law, Richard Mell, says their past feud is behind them and expressed relief for his daughter and grandchildren. Mell commented on political corruption, comparing Blagojevich's situation to other political scandals. CHICAGO - Every family has its challenges, but the rift between former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his father-in-law, Richard Mell, played out on a public stage. Once a political ally who helped launch Blagojevich's career, Mell became estranged from his son-in-law early in Blagojevich's first term as governor when federal investigations began. But now, Mell says the family discord is behind them, and he feels relieved following President Donald Trump's full and unconditional pardon for Blagojevich. What we know Richard Mell, the powerful former 33rd Ward alderman, publicly expressed his support for the pardon, emphasizing his relief for his daughter and grandchildren. "I feel good about (the pardon), for my daughter and for my grandchildren," Mell said. Blagojevich, who had his 14-year prison sentence commuted by Trump in 2020, has maintained his innocence, calling his actions "routine and legal in politics." Outside his Ravenswood Manor home this week, he insisted that corrupt prosecutors criminalized standard political practices. But does Mell agree? Reflecting on the political landscape, Mell criticized the use of criminal informants to build corruption cases. He drew comparisons to other political scandals in Illinois. "You know something, when you have people like (former Alderman Danny Solis) doing things like that, I have problems with that. I have problems with somebody doing a crime and then using his crime to entice other people," Mell said, comparing Solis' cooperation in former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan's criminal conviction to the myriad of characters around Blagojevich who either were questioned or went to prison. "Exactly," Mell said when asked if that was Blagojevich's cardinal sin and the biggest factor in his downfall. "I think that more than anything else, of course." What we don't know Rumors are swirling about Blagojevich potentially being appointed as Ambassador to Serbia, given his Serbian American heritage. However, no official confirmation has been made. When asked about Blagojevich returning to politics, Mell hinted that the decision might rest with his daughter. "I heard her say once that if there was another one, he'd have to find another wife," Mell said. What's next Blagojevich shared that his immediate plans involve finishing a book about his time in prison. As speculation about his political future continues, it remains unclear if he will reenter the political arena or pursue other opportunities.
