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Last Update - September, 2011
What's New - News Letter - March 2011

 

Congratulations to the following people who were winners of the 2011 Grey Cup raffle tickets:

1st Quarter

Correct Score Susan Wardekker

Reverse Score Liliana DiMartino

2nd Quarter

Correct Score Katherine Kelsey

Reverse Score Ruth Elson

3rd Quarter

Correct Score Tim Silk

Reverse Score Howard Sedlovitch

4th Quarter

Correct Score Andy Mandziuk

Reverse Score Joan Parker

On behalf of the Executive and members of Myasthenia Gravis Manitoba, Inc., we thank you for your support of our Chapter’s fundraiser.

 

 

Myasthenia Gravis

What is Myasthenia Gravis (MG)? (Mi-as-THEE- nee-a Gra-vis)

Myasthenia Gravis is a chronic muscle disease that causes weakness and rapid fatigue of the voluntary muscles.

Myasthenia Gravis is an auto-immune disease. That is, the immune system produces antibodies that react against your body’s tissue. In MG, the muscles are the targets. The thymus gland (that plays a role in the immune system) is often abnormal in people with Myasthenia Gravis.
Who is affected?

Myasthenia Gravis can affect people of all ages and either sex, although it is seen most in women between the ages of 20 and 40 years and men after the age of 50.

What causes MG?

The symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis are caused by a defect in transmission of nerve impulses to muscles at the neuromuscular junction, even though the nerves and muscles remain normal.

What are the symptoms?

Myasthenia Gravis is sometimes called the invisible disease because, often the symptoms in the early stages are subtle and variable. Because of this, it is a difficult disease to diagnose correctly.

Symptoms may be any of the following or a combination of these:

  • drooping of one or both eyelids
  •  blurred or double vision
  • difficulty controlling facial expression
  • difficulty chewing or swallowing
  • slurred and nasal speech
  • difficulty breathing
  • weakness in neck, arms, hands, fingers, legs

Weakness tends to worsen with exercise, and improves with rest.

Treatment is available through surgery and prescribed medication.

If you have any questions about Myasthenia Gravis or the treatments that are available, please contact your doctor.

How can I manage MG?

Learning to live with MG requires some adjustments that will affect you and your whole family. It is vital that you and your family completely understand the illness and its treatment. The more informed you are, the easier it is to cope and make changes. MG is no longer a life threatening disease. Once a treatment plan has bee developed and applied, most persons with MG are able to resume their previous activities and lifestyle as long as they follow their treatment plan and watch for any recurrence of symptoms.

Contact with a support group is also an excellent therapeutic tool both for greater understanding and for support.
For further information contact:
Verna Kapkey

(204) 582 - 5456

e-mail: mginc@mts.net

 Gary Parker

e-mail: jparker@mts.net

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Executive List  -  2011 - 2012

President Diane S. Kowaliuk 444-7802
Vice President Verna Kapkey 586-6784
Secretary Maureen Silk 667-3630
Treasurer Maureen Silk 667-3630

Telephone Committee Chair

 Frances Irving

Mary Ross

488-8471

488-0477
Fund Raising Committee Chair Verna Kapkey

Sandra Penner

 586-6784

204-348-2960
Education Committee Chair Verna Kapkey 586-6784
Hospital Visiting Committee Ken & Joan McGregor 667-0323
Social Committee Chair Connie Chubaty 582-8491
Newsletter Editor / Assistant Corinne Elson

Connie Chubaty

231-1158

582-8491
Resource Doreen Amadatsu 888-8628
Video Production Gary Parker 896-6444
Coffee Committee Karen Riehl

Maria Choquette

Rubina Sancho

 895-7398

293-1008

582-2882

Brochure Distribution

 C.J. Emmonds

786-5000     (Pager # 1532)

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Meeting Dates
The following are the confirmed dates for our meetings for 2011 and 2012 location is St. Boniface Hospital at 409 Tache Avenue – Basement south Entrance – AG 001 & 2 by stairwell – watch for our bright red signs.
Date Time Location
 
September 15, 2011 - Thursday 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. AG001 & 2 south end of basement
November 17, 2011 - Thursday 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. AG001 & 2 south end of basement
January 2012  – Christmas party – TBA   Location TBA
March 15, 2012 - Thursday 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. AG001 & 2 south end of basement

May 17, 2012 - Thursday

 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. AG001 & 2 south end of basement
Please try to attend each meeting, we appreciate your attendance, participation and assistance in so many ways. Bring your family and friends, and learn more about Myasthenia Gravis.

Sincerely,
Verna Kapkey
Education Committee

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Information
  • CPP Disability
    P.O. Box 818
    Station Main
    Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Phone 1-800 277-9914

    Doreen Amadatsu our Resource Chair can be reached at 888-8628 or at damadatsu@shaw.ca for the above forms as well as a medical form which has to be filled out by their doctors. This disability will help families with young children or even those going to University. For those who are going to apply for disability from their work-place they would have to go to their "Human Resource" and if they have private disability plan they will have to fill out detailed medical history of their activities as well as how it affects their ability to work. It may take 2-3 years and you may have to go to a lawyer anyway, hopefully they may have better luck.

  • News Letter  -  March 2011  /  October 2010  /  March 2010  /  October 2009  /  March 2009  /  October 2008  /  March 2008  /  October 2007 /  March 2007  /  October 2006  /  March 2006  /  December 2005  /  July 2005  /  March 2005

  • Dr. MW Nicolle’s PowerPoint presentation titled, Myasthenia Gravis: A Neurologist’s Perspective, is now available for viewing directly on the MGCC Website. 

    1) Simply log into the MGCC website: www.mgcc-ccmg.org

    2) Click to the Resource Material menu,

    3) Move down to Visual Presentations, and

    4) Proceed to page 2. 

    This 55 slide presentation offers a full overview of myasthenia gravis - symptoms, treatments, etc. and an excellent visual presentation on how MG antibodies act in the body.

  • List of Video Tapes by Speakers for Myasthenia Gravis Manitoba Inc. - Produced by Gary Parker

(1) Myasthenia Gravis Presentation

  • Dr. Andrew Gomori
  • Neurologist
  • November 8, 2001

(2) Myasthenia Gravis Presentation

  • Dr. Janine Johnston
  • Neuro-Ophthamologist
  • November 14, 2002

(3) Myasthenia Gravis Presentation

  • Darrel Childs
  • Pharmacist
  • March 11, 2004

(4) Myasthenia Gravis Overview Presentation

  • Dr. Werner K. Ilse
  • Neurologist
  • November 11, 2004
  • Kyle MacNair, Pharmacist from PRISM = Prescription Information Service of Manitoba

If you are an MG patient and have an adverse affect from a certain medication it is imperative that you take the time and report it to Health Canada by phone at 1-866-234-2345 or fax 1-866-678-6789 or by e-mail at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/medeffect.  Due to the small portion of the population who has MG it is critical to the next person who is prescribed that medication to be aware of the side effects.  Also eventually that medication will end up on a drug card to warn other MG patients of the side effects.

macnair@prisminfo.org

  • FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH MG

    A short list of a few famous people known or believed to have myasthenia gravis:

  • Weeb Ewbank - NFL Hall of Fame & two-time Super Bowl winning coach
  • Lamar Lundy - Former NFL Pro Bowl linebacker & member of the Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" defense
  • Charles Nelson - Brother of Hall of Fame golfer Byron Nelson
  • Lawrence Olivier - Famous actor
  • Aristotle Onassis - Famous husband of Jackie Kennedy
  • Lucianno Pavarotti (daughter) - Daughter of famous singer Pavarotti (name unknown)
  • Suzanne Rogers - Famous 1970s and 1980s soap opera actress
  • "Sleepy Dwarf" - One of the seven dwarves - believed to be modeled after a friend of Walt Disney's that had myasthenia gravis
  • Phil Silvers - Actor (played Sgt. Bilko)
  • Roger Smith - Famous actor and husband of famous actress Ann Margaret

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Donations

Make the cheque payable to:

Myasthenia Gravis Manitoba Inc.
Attention: Maureen Silk
614 Munroe Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R2K 1H8

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Links

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Contact Us

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Executive  /  Meeting Dates  /  Information  /  Donations  /  Links  /  Contact Us

Myasthenia Gravis Manitoba Inc.

Founded August 21, 2000