“Heat, like gravity, penetrates every substance of the universe, its rays occupy all parts of space.” — Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, a mathematician who studied heat conduction Our dad died in May 2020 from Huntington’s disease, and my brother, Gavin, was diagnosed with it…
Columns
For the past four years, I’ve written something romantic for my wife, Jill, in honor of Valentine’s Day. This year is no different. Please note that what I’m about to share is imaginary. Jill and I never met in the manner in which I’m about to describe, and…
My wife, Jill, will admit she is mercurial when it comes to our day-to-day lives. Some days, she is fine with discussions about Huntington’s disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disorder she inherited from her father, while other days, she is not. It’s hard for me to separate what I…
Our dad, David Roy Field, would’ve celebrated his 72nd birthday this February. I often wonder what he would’ve thought of our current family life if he were still with us today. We lost Dad to Huntington’s disease in May 2020. My brother, Gavin, was recently diagnosed…
“Yesterday/ All my troubles seemed so far away/ Now it looks as though they’re here to stay/ Oh, I believe in yesterday/ Suddenly/ I’m not half the man I used to be/ There’s a shadow hanging over me.” My dad and I loved listening to the Beatles’ “…
I came home one night recently to find my wife, Jill, sitting on the floor in the dark at the edge of the stairs. She was clearly upset and in pain. I was worried something was broken so I asked if I needed to call 911. Through her sobs, she…
“Find another oak to weather the storm with you.” — author Deepak Chopra I’ve always likened caring for someone with Huntington’s disease (HD) to navigating a storm, with waves of difficult times crashing over you. Eventually, the storm clears and the waters grow calm again, but you know…
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…
“See you in heaven one day” is a line from one of my dad’s all-time favorite songs, which I have recently been revisiting. By 2020, my dad had been in nursing homes for almost six years, suffering from late-stage Huntington’s disease. He’d been having…
Recent Posts
- Toward a better understanding of anger as a symptom of Huntington’s disease
- Actor Will Forte shares family story in Teva awareness campaign
- Finding ‘space in the middle’ to deal with life’s challenges
- What a compassionate reset looks like in life with Huntington’s
- Ingrezza engages with therapeutic target more strongly than Austedo
- Anticipation of a possible new clinical trial has us holding on to hope
- What caregiver burnout is really about — and what you can do about it
- Oral Huntington’s treatment aims to slow disease progression
- Accepting help from my loved one with HD is a lesson in partnership
- Understanding how Huntington’s disease affects my cognition