Anniw

Th ey heard a knock at the door and turned to see the nurse enter; she was holding a folder with the hospital’s stamp.

“Ah, the lab results,” exclaimed the doctor.

Th e neurologist turned the pages with a frown. Annie took her mother’s hand as they looked at one another.

“I’m afraid I don’t have very good news. Do you remember when the nurse injected that solution into your

arm and you said that suddenly you felt much stronger?”

“Yes, I felt so much better, but only for a short time,” replied Annie.

“Th at was the edrophonium test; we injected edrophonium chloride into your vein. It temporarily relieves

weakness in people who suff er from myasthenia gravis. I am afraid that the diagnosis is confi rmed by these

lab results, which show an abnormally high level of antibodies in your blood.”

Annie’s mother asked about antibodies.

“Antibodies are part of your body’s immune response; they are made when certain white blood cells encounter

antigens; sorry, anything that is not you. In many cases of myasthenia gravis, the antibodies also compromise

communication from your nerves to your muscles. One good piece of news is that the computer tomography

(ct) scan shows that there is a tumor on your thymus gland. Th is tumor could be the reason for your

problems. Th e thymus can be easily removed, and this will probably decrease the symptoms; it may even cure

them. Additional treatment will probably be necessary to counteract the compromised situation b