A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

As John Lennon once sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Well, life happened — again. At the end of February, my wife, Jill, and I had planned to go to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to lobby several congressmen as part…

Over the past year, Huntington’s disease has begun to affect my gene-positive wife, Jill, in various ways. Anyone who’s met Jill would tell you that she loves knowledge. As a lifelong journalist, I share the same passion. However, I don’t want my knowledge about Huntington’s disease to…

On a recent afternoon while I was at work, my wife, Jill, sent me an alarming text. “I’ve had a little issue with a knife and my thumb,” she wrote. “If it hasn’t stopped bleeding by the time you get home tonight, I may need to get stitches.” I…

As a lifelong advocate in the Huntington’s disease (HD) community, fellow Huntington’s Disease News columnist B.J. Viau, whose late mother had HD, knows that genetic testing is a life-changing, emotional, and difficult experience for those who are at risk for this rare…

My objectives in this column are to acknowledge two upcoming holidays: Valentine’s Day, which my wife, Jill, doesn’t believe in (she thinks it’s manufactured and that love should be celebrated every day), and Rare Disease Day, on Feb. 28, which raises awareness and prompts change for…

Because my wife, Jill, has Huntington’s disease (HD), my roles include being her caregiver. With National Caregivers Day coming up on Feb. 17, I thought it would be fitting to share some advice from fellow caregiver and author Lea Zikmund, who published a book last year…

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…