A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

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…

I love the random questions my wife, Jill, asks me. One such query recently led to a deep and productive conversation. Jill asked me if I thought that anyone could become a good writer. I knew there was a story behind the question, so I asked if she’d share…

It was 6 a.m., time for me to leave for work. I got into my car, pressed down on the brake, and hit the start button. The engine sputtered and then made no sound. Uh-oh. I repeated the steps, but again, there was no comforting “vroom” sound of the engine…

How could a musical lead to tears and a conversation about my wife’s Huntington’s disease (HD)? That was my thought as Jill and I recently walked out of the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., after seeing a former Broadway musical called “Jagged Little Pill,” which was inspired…

The quote that best describes my wife, Jill, is “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between,” from Maya Angelou‘s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” When the love of my life started showing early signs of Huntington’s disease (HD)…

After my beloved wife, Jill, and I left a recent party, she was a little shaken up. When I asked why she was upset, she said, “Do you think love is enough to sustain a marriage?” I said, “Yes, of course.” She said, “Did you know the University of…

When my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, she had been feeling anxious and depressed. It was one of the reasons she decided to go through with genetic testing, as these are common symptoms that act as warning signs for gene-positive…

I’ve always loved television shows about the Wild West and cops who are smart and funny. There’s a swagger about the characters that I always wanted to embody. Plus, they always beat the bad guys. Since my wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in 2018, we have…

My wife, Jill, was diagnosed as gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2018, and our daughter, Alexus, was diagnosed the following year. Because HD runs in Jill’s family — multiple people on her father’s side of the family have battled it, including her dad — she’s…

A former columnist for Huntington’s Disease News, Erin Paterson, tested gene-positive for Huntington’s disease (HD) in 2006. She’s also the founder of Lemonade Press, a social enterprise focused on empowering people through storytelling. Through writing and speaking about genetic disease, depression, and infertility, she hopes to…