A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

I’ve learned a lot from my wife, Jill, who is gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD), about the importance of the phrase “I promise.” In the past, I often made promises without considering what they meant to others. As a child, I’d say, “I promise I’ll clean my room,”…

After 15 years of marriage, I was finally able to persuade my wife, Jill, to join me in exploring my love of reading. I hope that despite her Huntington’s disease diagnosis, she will never stop reading. I’m an avid reader. If you ask Jill, she’d say that’s an…

In the summer of 2022, my wife, Jill, and I attended an eye-opening event that made me understand exactly what Huntington’s disease (HD) does to a loved one. It was a family reunion hosted by Jill’s paternal relatives. Her father had HD, as do multiple people on his…

My wife, Jill, comes from a big family. She likes to joke that if she threw a dart at a map, someone from her family would live there. She loves to visit them, but lately, there’s been a cost for doing so. I always appreciate her family because…

When my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, I thought I had already learned the lesson about appreciating loved ones while they are alive. Almost 20 years ago, my eldest sister, Nancy, died of cancer. Then, in the past 13 years, my father, mother, and…

My wife, Jill, is lucky to come from a loving family. Her relatives are the kind of people who would help anyone in any way they can. I’ve been blessed to be welcomed by them. After Jill was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, our daughter, Alexus…

My wife, Jill, and I recently celebrated 15 years of marriage. When we said “I do” all those years ago, I couldn’t have guessed what would eventually happen to her: She is being robbed of her words. Or, as she puts it, words are “escaping” her. Jill will be…

My wife, Jill, has always been stubborn, to put it lightly. She won’t admit that something is too hard for her. Ever. “No, I got it” is her favorite saying. But since she was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in 2018, I haven’t been sure if stubbornness is…

The other day, a lightbulb went off when I thought about the things that Huntington’s disease might rob from me. I’m married to someone who was diagnosed with Huntington’s in 2018, and I often focus on what the disease will steal from her (or us). But I hadn’t…

What do you say — in under a minute! — to someone about a rare disease? How do you convey the needs of people with Huntington’s disease (HD), knowing how terrible it is because you’ve spent years watching what it does to people you love? How can you explain…