A Family Tradition - a Column by Carlos Briceño

My wife, Jill, who is gene-positive with Huntington’s disease (HD), is a born caregiver. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with her. I watched her take care of her father, who also was diagnosed with HD, as he started to decline physically and mentally. It was an…

On Saturday evening, my wife, Jill, and I will be putting on our fancy party clothes to attend the 7th Annual Freeze HD virtual event. The benefit will feature celebrities, music performances, and a silent auction, with the goal of raising money for the Huntington’s Disease Society of America.

My wife, Jill, and I recently took a road trip. One of the reasons we’d wanted to move to the East Coast of the United States from the Midwest was to live closer to family. So, we were happy to drive to see Jill’s relatives, including her two brothers,…

I learned a new recipe for the overwhelming chaos known as moving. Take a dash of living out of several suitcases. Now, add that to living in someone else’s home. Top it off with an old dog and slippery wooden floors with stairs. Serve it with a glass of feeling…

Several days ago, my wife, Jill, and I got a call from our daughter, Alexus. She wanted us to know she was getting two new cats. Alexus and her boyfriend just moved into a new home with the two cats she already owns. Because my wife and daughter…

Earlier this year, I wrote that I was dealing with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but didn’t realize it until my wife, Jill, pointed it out to me. Today, with her permission, I’m turning the spotlight on her. My wife has always admitted that she suffers from ADHD,…

In late July, before my nephew, Dylan, moved to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, in the Caucasus region, for several months, I played several songs for him while we were in his car. One of them was a live version of “Fragile” by Sting. I know Dylan’s taste…

Huntington’s is a strange and deadly disease. It’s not like cancer. Only 5-10% of cancer is hereditary, and what’s passed down is the abnormal gene that can lead to cancer, not the cancer itself. It’s not like heart disease. Certain risk factors, such as high cholesterol, can be…

For more than two years, I have shared my family’s journey with Huntington’s, including learning about the disease, living through my wife and daughter testing gene-positive, and working to accept their diagnoses. This time, I want to share some advice from Jill, my wife: Let go of people who are…

A soundtrack has been playing in the back of my mind for weeks now, ever since I last saw my wife, Jill. Following are some of the songs that have been on my mental playlist: “So Far Away” by Dire Straits “So Far Away” by Carole King (different…