Latest news with #autoimmune disease
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Tennis star Monica Seles reveals her diagnosis with myasthenia gravis
Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease she discussed during a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, a career that included nine Grand Slam titles and a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. '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,' Seles said. '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.' The 51-year-old Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. The 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.' Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms — 'just blowing my hair out ... became very difficult,' she said — and legs. '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. 'So this is where — I can't emphasize 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 U.S. 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.' She talks about learning to live a 'new normal' nowadays and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. '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 U.S. 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," Seles said. 'And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust,'' she added. "And that's what I'm doing now.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis: Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
CNN
6 days ago
- Health
- CNN
9-time grand slam champion Monica Seles reveals her diagnosis with myasthenia gravis
Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease she discussed during a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, a career that included nine grand slam titles and a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. '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,' Seles said. '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.' The 51-year-old Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the US Open, which starts on August 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. The 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.' Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms — 'just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' she said — and legs. '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. 'So this is where — I can't emphasize 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.' She talks about learning to live a 'new normal' nowadays and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. '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,' Seles said. 'And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust,'' she added. 'And that's what I'm doing now.'
CNN
6 days ago
- Health
- CNN
9-time grand slam champion Monica Seles reveals her diagnosis with myasthenia gravis
Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease she discussed during a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, a career that included nine grand slam titles and a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. '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,' Seles said. '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.' The 51-year-old Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the US Open, which starts on August 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. The 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.' Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms — 'just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' she said — and legs. '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. 'So this is where — I can't emphasize 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.' She talks about learning to live a 'new normal' nowadays and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. '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,' Seles said. 'And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust,'' she added. 'And that's what I'm doing now.'
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Monica Seles adapting to ‘new normal' after being diagnosed with neuromuscular disease
Monica Seles says she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis – a neuromuscular autoimmune disease – three years ago. The nine-time grand slam singles champion says she first noticed symptoms of the disease while she was swinging her racket. '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,' Seles said. '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, the 1990 French Open, at the age of 16 and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time before this month's US Open to raise awareness of the condition. The 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'. There is currently no known cure. The 51-year-old said she'd never heard of the condition until she was referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms – 'just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' she said – and legs. 'When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'' said Seles. 'So this is where – I can't emphasize enough – I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.' The disease can also cause difficulty in swallowing, speaking and affect facial expressions. 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 stabbed at a tournament in 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 says she is learning to live a 'new normal' and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. '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,' Seles said. 'And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust. And that's what I'm doing now.' Seles won nine grand slam singles titles during her playing career, with Wimbledon being the only major she missed out on, although she did reach the final in 1992. Her 178 weeks at No 1 is sixth all-time in WTA history.
CBC
7 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Tennis great Monica Seles reveals her myasthenia gravis diagnosis
Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease she discussed during a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, a career that included nine Grand Slam titles and a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "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," Seles said. "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." The 51-year-old Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. The 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." How Victoria Mboko stunned the tennis world to win her 1st career title Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms — "just blowing my hair out ... became very difficult," she said — and legs. "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. "So this is where — I can't emphasize 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 U.S. 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." She talks about learning to live a "new normal" nowadays and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. "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 U.S. 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," Seles said. "And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: `You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust,"' she added. "And that's what I'm doing now." WATCH | Victoria Mboko visits CBC Sports to discuss National Bank Open win: Victoria Mboko on her historic National Bank Open title and what's next 23 hours ago CBC Sports' Anastasia Bucsis chats with Victoria Mboko after her historic National Bank Open victory. The Canadian tennis star reflects on the moment, shares her goals for the future, and reveals what's next in her journey.
