Let’s talk about clouds today. Sometimes I like to just lie in the grass and gaze up at them. Nearly every cloud is different. In some I can see shapes. It’s kind of fun to see if you can identify a famous person, a pet or even a unicorn in the clouds. You just have to use your imagination.
Clouds that often appear white and fluffy are called Cumulus Clouds. These are the best clouds for finding shapes. Cumulus Clouds don’t produce a lot of rain, but they can create beautiful sunsets as the rays of the setting sun reflect off them.
Stratus Clouds are thin sheets of clouds covering nearly the whole sky. An overcast sky is usually Stratus Clouds. They block some of the sunlight, but since they’re so thin, they still let a lot of sunlight through. You don’t get a lot of rain or snow out of Stratus Clouds because they’re so thin.
The really angry clouds are called Cumulonimbus Clouds. These clouds grow to tens of thousands of feet high and build quickly on hot, humid days. From far away, they often look like mountains or towers. They can easily turn into thunderstorms and can even cause tornados. Sometimes the top of the cloud looks completely flat, like an anvil. When this occurs, watch out, as a storm is likely to form. If you’re ever in an airplane and have to fly through a Cumulonimbus Cloud, you better buckle up because you’re sure to experience turbulence.
How does a Cumulus Cloud form versus a Cumulonimbus Cloud? All clouds are actually water vapor in the air. As long as the air isn’t saturated to its limits, the cloud will continue to hold the water vapor as a cloud, like Cumulus and Stratus Clouds. When the air becomes saturated, like Cumulonimbus Clouds, that water vapor will condense and fall as precipitation. It will start raining or snowing depending on the temperature. A Cumulonimbus Cloud grows so fast due to warm, humid convective air coming off the heated ground rising to meet the cooler water vapor of the cloud. Some of the air will cool and return to the surface as downdrafts, but the humidity and the rest of the convective air will continue to build the cloud higher and higher. This cycle will continue until there is so much water vapor that the air becomes saturated, at which point it will rain. The winds caused by the rapid movement of air in convection and down drafts can be severe and often cause tornados.
Myasthenia Gravis is often like clouds. Somedays you know it’s there, but life is still beautiful and you’re not experiencing a lot of symptoms, kind of like Cumulus Clouds. On other days, you may feel tired all over and maybe even foggy. You can still function, but the signals aren’t quite coming through, like Stratus Clouds. And then somedays, you have a full blown Cumulonimbus growing. As your symptoms keep building, it’s time to buckle up.
Luckily we don’t have Cumulonimbus Clouds everyday in nature, or at least to the point of producing a hazardous storm. I don’t have really bad Myasthenia Gravis days very often either. I’m thankful for that, too. When I do have a bad day, however, it can be pretty severe.
My worst days are when I catch a cold that settles into my chest. I get weak easily from coughing and soon I can’t cough hard enough to clear my bronchial tubes or lungs. This can lead to pneumonia or a myasthenic crisis, where a person becomes unable to breathe and must be placed on a ventilator. It used to be that 10% of people with MG died due to a myasthenic crisis. That number is improving, however, as people are becoming more aware of what to watch for and seek medical attention early.
At the first sign of a cold, I make an appointment with my primary care physician. I also have asthma, which doesn’t help, so I have to be extra careful. My doctor usually prescribes whatever medication he feels is appropriate and has me start doing breathing treatments at home using a nebulizer. These treatments help open my airways and improve my breathing. They help me stop the Cumulonimbus Cloud in my life from getting any bigger and help me avoid a myasthenic crisis.
We’re going to have MG Clouds in our lives. We just need to learn how to navigate them and learn when they can become dangerous. Taking our medication as directed is key to keeping those clouds manageable. Seeking help from your doctor is always the best advice when you see that Cumulonimbus building.
You can’t stop Cumulonimbus Clouds in nature (or the insurance companies would have figured out a way to do it). You can, however, head off many of the MG Cumulonimbus Clouds in your life. Talk to your doctor and develop a plan that works best for you.
Stay safe. Stay #MGStrong!