A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

So which is worse: a long, drawn-out illness or a sudden, unexpected death? As the caregiver of a loved one with Huntington’s disease, I’m dealing with someone who is going to be suffering for a number of years. What my wife, Jill, will endure will not be a walk…

Author’s note: This column is for anyone with Huntington’s disease or their family and friends. Dear Huntington’s community: Many of us don’t know each other, but we are bound by our suffering, heartache, pain, sorrow, and grief. And also by our hope, love, and mercy. We are linked together by…

The first time I met Jill’s father was interesting. I hadn’t met someone with Huntington’s before, but Jill had told me all about it. Huntington’s was a movement disorder, and she had a 50 percent chance of inheriting it. I researched Huntington’s before meeting Jill’s father, but seeing the…

We live in a golden age of communication with many ways to talk to each other — email, text, and if you’re old like me, by phone. We have many chat choices, but I want to focus on one aspect by asking you a question: How do you end conversations…

I put my car in reverse and looked at my wife, Jill, in the back seat, trying valiantly to stay positive. I looked at my daughter, Alexus, in the front seat. She looked like she’d just lost her best friend, but she was talking and acting like everything was fine.

Some things that my wife, Jill, handles — such as paying the cable bill, for example — are tasks that I need to know how to do. Huntington’s disease eventually will affect her neurologically, but not for some time. It’s not ideal, but at least we have time to…

My wife and I are fortunate to have health insurance, which pays for some of our medical bills, but not all of them. My eyes glaze over when I hear words like deductibles and copays. I don’t understand insurance, and I don’t really want to. Jill has always taken care…

I recently experienced two occasions of complete helplessness. The first involved my dog, Baby Girl. She has big ears, a normal characteristic of cocker spaniels, which often get infected. The combination of infection and a buildup of earwax sent Baby Girl and me to the veterinarian. Baby…

Caregiving is an honorable position because it involves a lot of love. It also includes questions that begin with, “What if?” As you may know, my wife was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease last year. Right now, life is “good.” I put that word in quotation marks because her symptoms…

My wife and I don’t argue often. Here’s why: When we started dating, she shared with me her brilliant idea of a happy marriage. Jill asked me, “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?” I often choose happy. As my family knows, sometimes I…