A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

Recently, a reader of this column posted a comment that touched me. It also reminded me how precarious the caregiving journey can be and how important it is to learn as much as possible about Huntington’s disease (HD). Since my wife, Jill, was diagnosed as gene-positive for HD in…

Twenty minutes. I was leaving work 20 minutes later than planned, which meant I would be late to pick up my wife, Jill, at home. We had dinner plans that evening with friends, and I knew she would be a nervous wreck by the time I arrived. Being late…

Last in a series. Read part one. At the top of the list of why I can’t stand Huntington’s disease (HD) is the fact that my beloved wife, Jill, and daughter, Alexus, have it and, as a result, are going to suffer greatly. Another reason is that…

First in a two-part series. Something astounding happened recently. My wife, Jill, found someone who knows more about Huntington’s disease (HD) than she does. Because her father was gene-positive for HD, Jill saw firsthand what the disease does to a person. Many people on his side of…

Recently, I was discussing the meaning of marriage with a young couple, who told me they heard marriage can be defined three different ways: One is where both people say, “I do.” The second way is, “I do … do I?” And the third is, “I do — until I…

Last November, our daughter, Alexus, who is gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD), got married to a wonderful man named René. The civil ceremony took place in a restaurant in Boston. It was short, sweet, and relatively uncomplicated — exactly what the newlyweds wanted. They also wanted a…

In a previous column, I wrote about my wife, Jill, applying for the TSA PreCheck with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As someone who was diagnosed as gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, she wanted to apply to ease her stress when she…

My wife, Jill, has known of Jennifer Simpson, the assistant director of youth and community services at the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, for several months now. Jill first saw her in several YouTube videos on topics related to Huntington’s disease (HD) and was then part of…

Recently, my wife, Jill, underwent testing for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and discovered that she has it. This was not shocking news, as readers of this column know. One of the questions her nurse practitioner asked was, “How did you live for 44 years without being diagnosed with…

Since her 2018 diagnosis as gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD), my wife, Jill, has made visiting family a priority. We drive together for shorter trips when we can because our 13-year-old dog, Baby Girl, travels with us. For the trips that are too far to drive,…