A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

Huntington’s disease (HD) is hereditary. Because the father of my wife, Jill, was gene-positive for HD, she knew she had a 50% chance of getting the disease. Years ago, Jill told me to be honest with her. “If you think I’m showing symptoms, I want you to…

In 2018, my wife, Jill, started showing classic signs of Huntington’s disease (HD) — including involuntary movements, called chorea — so she decided to go through with genetic testing. After she was declared gene-positive for HD, she shared the devastating news with our daughter, Alexus. The conversation…

I’m a journalist, so my mind always wants to figure out the “why” of things. That means I ask questions about everything. Sometimes I get answers I don’t want to hear. Here’s a recent example. My wife, Jill, and our daughter, Alexus, both of whom are gene-positive for…

For months, people from across the U.S. have been working hard with members of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s (HDSA) advocacy caucus to convince members of Congress to pass the Huntington’s Disease Parity Act. My wife, Jill, who is gene-positive…

The other day, my wife, Jill, shared some life advice to our 25-year-old nephew, Dylan, who’s living and working in a monastery in Eastern Europe, trying to figure out what he wants to do in his life. He’s got many gifts. He’s a talented artist and musician. He loves…

Recently, my wife, Jill, and I were talking about a book I was reading. She commented that I don’t just read books, I devour them. As the conversation continued, we started talking about how both of our fathers liked to read as well. Jill’s dad passed away in 2011…

As I write this first paragraph, I’m in the living room. My wife, Jill, is on the sofa next to me doing her nails, and my dog, Baby Girl, is several feet away on the floor under the piano, sleeping on her side. I can hear her breathing. By…

Recently, my wife, Jill, who is gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD), took a trip to Boston to participate in an observational HD study. She had been looking forward to it in part because she’d be able to visit her brother and his family and stay at our daughter‘s…

Tiny moments. Life is full of them. For instance: I was not expecting the phone call. My wife, Jill, always texts me when she wakes up. She never calls. But during a recent morning, my cellphone rang while I was at work, and when I picked up, I saw…

My wife, Jill, and I selected “A Family Tradition” as the name of this column because of the genetic nature of Huntington’s disease (HD). If someone has the HD gene mutation, their children have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. It’s a tradition that no one…