A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

My wife, Jill, and I often talk about Huntington’s disease (HD), the neurodegenerative condition she inherited from her father. Writing this weekly column causes us to look at our experiences in a different light and put our decisions under a magnifying glass. But after 15 years of…

The notion of tradition is on my mind because we recently celebrated Christmas. Tradition comes from a Latin word meaning “to hand over” or “to hand down.” Sometimes family traditions are fun and wonderful, such as weekly game nights or favorite dinners like Taco Tuesdays. But others are ones…

During a recent walk in our neighborhood, my wife, Jill, and I admired the colors of the leaves on the trees while enjoying the mild winter weather we’ve been experiencing. We talked about our love-hate relationship with trees, leaves, and yardwork, and how Huntington’s disease progression affects…

My wife, Jill, who is gene-positive for Huntington’s disease, and I were recently standing in line at a grocery store when she had an exchange with strangers that reminded us of how powerful words are. It instantly reminded Jill of a hurtful question she overheard…

I was recently sitting in the living room, writing this week’s column, when my nephew Dylan sat down with his breakfast. He’s been staying with my wife, Jill, and me for several months, and I’ve noticed he eats a lot of avocado toast. When I asked him what…

When I met my wife, Jill, she loved that I was a writer. She would smile every time I shared something I’d written. When I asked her about other authors she enjoyed, Jill said her favorite was Edgar Allan Poe. For…

“Do you think the way people like to be shown love ever changes?” my wife, Jill, recently asked me as we were making the bed. “What a simple yet complicated question,” I replied, wondering where this conversation was going. Her next question deepened the mystery. “Do you think…

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. My wife, Jill, told me she recognized a song but couldn’t remember the lyrics. This sent me spiraling down what she calls the Huntington’s Disease Black Hole. It made me wonder if her memory lapse was yet another symptom of…

As I type this, my heart swells with emotion. My family’s journey isn’t the easiest, but we savor it because we’re grateful for every precious second we spend together. My wife, Jill, battles Huntington’s disease (HD) with great resiliency and courage, but it’s obvious that the condition has…

After my wife, Jill, started experiencing symptoms that led her to suspect she had inherited the faulty gene that causes Huntington’s disease (HD), she decided to find out for certain. When she told me she wanted to have her DNA tested for HD, my first question…