Sherry “Elisa” Toh (she/her) is a Singaporean native navigating life with SMA Type II and chronic neuropathy. She was diagnosed at 13 months by none other than Dr. Lee Wei Ling, after a referral from a GP. Sherry is a hopeless romantic whose loves include fairy tales, mythology, antiheroes, video games, and tea. She is planning on pursuing a BA in English Lit, but for now she’s enjoying freelance work and volunteering for communities and causes she believes in. She hopes her columns will offer community and catharsis to those who need it. Find her @musiquevers on social media.
“People think bisexuals stereotypically can’t decide on which gender we want to have sex with, when the truth is, we can’t decide on anything,” someone in a group chat once joked. I laughed far longer than perhaps was appropriate, nodding along at the truth of the statement, at least in…
For months, I waited in anticipation of July 22. I was going to be on a promotional panel for “Not Without Us: Perspectives on Disability and Inclusion in Singapore,” a book I contributed a chapter to last year. Before I’d even signed the contract, friends and family asked me…
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Evrysdi (risdiplam). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. “The drug likely won’t be effective on you. You’re in your 20s, and you’ve deteriorated to the point where you…
For the past two years, my best friend and fellow columnist, Brianna Albers, and I held a tradition of collaborating with each other for SMA Awareness Month. We’ve written companion columns about the pros and cons of our respective countries (she lives in the U.S., while I’m…
My dad had a handful of stories he liked to tell when I was growing up, like repeatedly playing a favorite vinyl record. One was about me loving music since I was an infant. “You’d stop crying when I sang,” he’d say. As a child, I regarded his recollection with…
Makeup and I have had an on-again, off-again relationship over the years. We were introduced when I was a kid. Though I don’t remember much of my childhood because of relational and medical trauma, I do vividly remember my mum taking me to buy lip gloss when we were on…
Last year, I had the incredible privilege of interviewing Corinne Busche, the current game director for Dragon Age’s fourth entry, “Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.” Busche is someone in the video games industry I’ve come to greatly admire for her kindness toward fans of the franchise and her enthusiasm about “Dreadwolf.”…
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Evrysdi. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Surrounded by beeping machines, monitors, wires, and tubes, I had trouble feeling like anything more than a patient during my hospital…
On May 2, members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) held their first strike since 2007-2008. The WGA is a joint partnership of labor unions on the East and West coasts, each composed of writers in film, television, radio, and online media. When writers and the studios that…
Speaking seems like a simple act: You open your mouth and say words. The end. But in actuality, it involves a number of mechanics: oxygen flowing through your lungs, up your trachea, and through your larynx, creating sounds that are then shaped by the voluntary muscles of your palate,…