Tennis legend Monica Seles has gone public about her battle with myasthenia gravis—a form of neuromuscular autoimmune disease—during a new interview with the Associated Press. The 51-year-old, who won her first major trophy aged 16 in 1990 before going on to be a nine-time Grand Slam winner, revealed she had been diagnosed with the disease three years ago after noticing herself getting double-vision and a weakness in her limbs. “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.” According to the Mayo Clinic, myasthenia gravis causes muscles to feel weak and get tired quickly due to a breakdown in communication between nerves and muscles. There is no cure but treatment can ease symptoms. Those symptoms can include weakness of arm or leg muscles, double vision, drooping eyelids, and problems with speaking, chewing, swallowing and breathing. Seles said she had never heard of the condition until she saw a neurologist, and opened up about learning to live a “new normal” following the diagnosis. “Being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis was another reset,” she told AP. “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.”
Read it at Associated Press
