A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

Years ago, our daughter, Alexus, asked where her favorite “coat to steal” was. She described one of my jackets. I pictured my closet and came up blank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. She described it in detail: the color, the fabric, and how it hung on…

During a recent car ride, my wife, Jill, and I were listening to a podcast about healthcare, a topic I’ve become more familiar with in recent years. One comment surprised me: Many of the approximately 6o million Americans who live in rural areas don’t have access to basic healthcare due…

On a recent evening, my wife, Jill, who is gene-positive with Huntington’s disease, sat me down and said, “I need you to understand what happens in my head when I keep asking the same question.” When perseveration hits, it feels to her like a record needle that keeps…

My wife, Jill, and I recently went to Target to shop for new baskets. The trip reminded us of when we helped our daughter move earlier this year, and how that trip helped us to see each other more clearly, which sits at the heart of how we live with…

The recent news that UniQure plans to ask the U.S Food and Drug Administration for accelerated approval of the experimental gene therapy AMT-130 to treat Huntington’s disease (HD) in the next few months caused my wife, Jill, to admit something that startled me.  Jill,…

My wife, Jill, has has been watching a lot of “lawtube” videos on YouTube lately. She likes tracking court-related cases as a way to slow the decline from Huntington’s disease (HD). The cases, and anything relating to legal issues, hold her attention. It’s part of her growing bag of…

I thought I understood the highs and lows that come with Huntington’s disease, including the unfiltered comments and raw emotions my wife, Jill, sometimes shares with me. I have seen her frustration, her dark humor, and her moments of deep sadness. But nothing prepared me for what it feels…

Huntington’s disease has changed so much about our life, especially for my wife, Jill. Her balance isn’t what it used to be, and falls are a real concern. In a house where stability is fragile, a small creature racing around our feet sounds like the last thing we should invite…

Turn on the news, and it’s easy to witness a jet stream of anger swirling around the main headlines in our world today: wars, spikes in the cost of living, political campaigns, and more. In observing the various levels of displeasure these headlines provoke, I started to wonder, why do…

My wife, Jill, and I recently visited the retail store Party City to pick out decorations for her mother’s 80th birthday. Jill held up a glittery banner and asked if it was too much. I joked that nothing could ever be too much for our family. Jill smiled and agreed.