A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

Picture a family tree, its branches stretching toward the sky, vibrant with life, yet bearing the deep scars of an inherited gene mutation — one that causes Huntington’s disease (HD). For those unfamiliar, this neurodegenerative illness ruthlessly destroys the mind and body by erasing memories and stripping away independence.

To ring in the new year, I wanted to share a fun fact about my wife, Jill: She takes her “Beetlejuice” very, very seriously, and nothing — not even Huntington’s disease — will ever take that away from her. When the sequel to the 1988 cult classic was announced…

Sometimes our best-laid plans go sideways, and what emerges is better than anything we could’ve orchestrated. That’s what I learned the year my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease (HD). When your world gets turned upside down, you grasp for anchors — those memories of better times that…

My wife, Jill, has battled being gene-positive with Huntington’s disease (HD) with remarkable grace and resilience. Despite her difficulties, she continues to find joy in the simple things, such as the companionship of a furry friend. Our beloved dog, Baby Girl, passed away in 2022, leaving a…

My wife, Jill, has Huntington’s disease — a rare, neurodegenerative illness that can seem to rule her life. One of the hardest things to deal with is Jill’s nearly constant worrying about going places. It’s difficult to…

The weight of my family’s history often feels like a shadow I can’t outrun. My mother battled bipolar disorder while my father fought his demons with alcohol. I lost both of my sisters far too young, and now my beloved wife, Jill, and our daughter, Alexus,…

After my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, we gained a new level of appreciation for people affected by terrible storms and other natural disasters. The rare disease she inherited made us realize, in deeper ways, that what she’s experiencing as her neurodegenerative illness progresses…

My wife, Jill, has always been a fighter, no question about it. Before her Huntington’s disease diagnosis, she’d march into any battle against anyone or anything without hesitation, no matter the stakes. After she learned that she’d experience the same decline from Huntington’s as her father did, though, she seemed to…

If there’s one thing I know about my wife, Jill, who’s gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD), it’s that she seems to have a funny relationship with electronics. Over the years, her cellphones have developed quirks: missed calls, delayed texts, ghost vibrations when there’s nothing there. It’s not that she’s…

Death wasn’t something I thought much about when I was younger. My mortality felt distant and abstract. Then, over a 16-year period, everything changed: My two older sisters died, one from cancer and the other from a tragic accident, and my parents also passed away. During that time frame,…