Skip to main content

Jennifer Hopkins Myasthenia Gravis

Jennifer Hopkins Myasthenia Gravis - Jennifer Hopkins is training for her second Ironman triathlon, intending to repeat her feat of finishing the challenging three-part course in 2009.

Completing a 3.86-kilometre swim, a 180.25-km bicycle ride and a 42.19-km run that year -- in that order and without a break -- is a major accomplishment for any athlete. It was a much greater challenge for the 31-year-old Ottawa resident, a foreign service officer and lawyer with the federal government who has multiple sclerosis and two other autoimmune diseases.

“I had always wanted to do the Ironman and said that I would do it when I was healthier,” says Hopkins, who was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease, as a teenager and warned she was unlikely to be able to continue participating in most sports.

Jennifer Hopkins Myasthenia Gravis

Because this condition resulted in her having symptoms similar to some symptoms of MS, it wasn’t until 2007, when she was articling after obtaining her law degree, that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Shortly afterwards, she learned she also had lupus, a chronic systemic disease that can attack any part of the body and cause tissue damage.

“My initial reaction was shock,” she says.

“Then I said this isn’t the first stumbling block I’ve encountered and I’m going to do whatever I can to try to live the best that I can and stay as positive as I can.

Jennifer Hopkins Myasthenia Gravis
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist

Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist - An Irish tourist who was mauled to death by two dogs while visiting an organic farm in Penang yesterday morning had more than 50 bite wounds and lacerations all over his body. Penang Hospital Forensic Department head Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, who performed the post-mortem on Maurice Sullivan (pix), 50, today, said he found the wounds on the victim's head, neck, hands and legs. "The victim had died as a result of severe haemorrhage due to multiple injuries from the dogs' bites," he said, adding that there were no signs that Sullivan suffered any ailment at the time of death. Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist Bhupinder also said both Sullivan's ears and the left side of his face were gnawed off in the incident. One of the ears was recovered from the scene. Bhupinder told reporters this after carrying out the post-mortem which began at 10am. Sullivan was attacked by two mongrels at the farm while taking photographs of the gr...
6 comments
Read more

Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone

Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone - Police say a man on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas punched a teenager who refused to turn off his iPhone as the plane approached the Boise airport. Officers arrested 68-year-old Russell E. Miller, of Boise, on suspicion of misdemeanor battery Tuesday. He has been released from jail on bond. Witnesses told police the 15-year-old was playing games and listening to music on his cell phone when flight attendants instructed passengers to turn off their electronic devices because the plane was landing. Witnesses told police that when the teen didn't respond, Miller got angry and punched the boy in the arm. Miller says he "tapped" the teen on the shoulder after he refused to turn off the phone. He told the Idaho Statesman that he may have "overreacted," but that he did not punch the teen. Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone
5 comments
Read more

Contactless Debit Cards

Contactless Debit Cards - Contactless debit cards will make their formal debut in Canada next year with the launch of Interac Flash from Acxsys Corp.’s Interac Association, Canada’s national debit network. Interac’s first two Flash issuers are Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank, which will roll out their first contactless cards next summer. The first acquirer is TD Merchant Services, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank. More issuers and acquirers are on the way, an Interac spokesperson tells Digital Transactions News, though no announcements have been made yet. Interac and the banks tested Flash this summer at some high-volume, small-ticket merchants in downtown Toronto. The spokesperson expects national merchants will be making formal announcements about acceptance. “There’s a lot of excitement in the merchant community,” she says. “Merchants are looking for that faster throughput.” In a statement, the Retail Council of Canada endorsed the new card. “Interac Flash is a welcome and needed ...
Post a Comment
Read more