Columns

When, on a recent Friday night after I’d worked a 60-hour week, my wife, Jill, asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast the next morning, my first instinct was to say no. Instead, I said I’d love to go. The reason was simple: I love Jill…

“All body systems would be immobilized without the nervous system. It controls and regulates every bodily activity down to the workings of the tiniest cell.” — World Book Encyclopedia of Science Because Huntington’s disease (HD) damages neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain, it can cause a variety of…

If you’d asked me 15 years ago — when I met my wife, Jill — if I believed in the concept of luck, I would’ve told you no. I would’ve told you that both good and bad things happen to us all and that luck was something we construct…

“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…

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…