Columns

Some days, my brain feels like it’s buffering. Not in a dramatic, emergency kind of way. It’s more like I’m standing in my kitchen with a cup in my hand, trying to remember why I walked in there in the first place. I can see what needs to happen next,…

When a building catches fire, most of us instinctively move back. We watch from the sidewalk, hoping the flames die down, grateful for any distance between us and the danger. Firefighters are different. They hear the alarm, size up the risk, and move toward the heat, knowing there are no…

Dating with Huntington’s disease (HD) has taught me how quickly people confuse honesty with a warning label. I used to believe that telling the truth early on in the process was the kindest thing I could do. I still believe in honesty, but I’ve learned that it doesn’t protect…

Every year, I write my wife, Jill, something romantic in this column, such as a Valentine’s Day play. This year, she looked at me, half amused and half worried, and said, “Carlos, I don’t know how you haven’t run out of puns by now.”…

February has a quiet way of exposing what the holidays can hide. In December, people check in. They send the “thinking of you” texts. They ask how you’re holding up. Even the people who don’t know what to say still make an effort to say something, because the season almost…

Breaking news: We have a new dog. He’s a puppy. His name is Dexter, and he’s perfect. He’s perfect at eating little things that have accumulated on the floor of our home, such as dust balls, little scraps of paper, and tiny pieces of food. He’s perfect at walking so…

Anger is one of the most misunderstood and quickly judged symptoms of Huntington’s disease. When people hear the word “anger,” they often picture a personality flaw. They might assume it’s an attitude problem, a character issue, or a choice. Rarely do they consider neurodegeneration or other shifts…

Before her Huntington’s disease (HD) diagnosis, my wife, Jill, worked with children between the ages of 5 and 15. Every afternoon, when she came home, she carried stories about the little dramas that had unfolded at school that day. There was always something — a Lego taken without permission, an argument…

January is loud. It shows up with fireworks, fresh calendars, and the not-so-subtle message that you should reinvent yourself by Monday. There’s a whole culture built around before-and-after photos and big declarations, as if being human is a project you can complete with enough discipline. Living with Huntington’s disease…

Hope recently arrived at our house disguised as a press release. Years ago, my wife, Jill, who is gene-positive with Huntington’s disease (HD), tried to explain what it feels like to live with the emotional ups and downs of a rare disease. She said there are days when news…