An uncharacteristic kitchen accident reveals new cognitive issues

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 immediately called her. She was cutting fruit and the knife slipped, slicing into the top of her thumb. The bleeding was nonstop “for a bit.” I offered to leave work right away, but Jill, who always downplays what’s wrong, said, “I don’t want to go to the doctor’s if I don’t have to.”

Jill has always had anxiety about going to the doctor’s office, but since she was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in 2018, her anxiety about going anywhere has worsened. I’ve been married to her for 15 years and have figured out when she doesn’t want to talk about something. I knew that if I pushed, she would say everything was fine and not tell me if she needed stitches.

I said I was sorry and told her to text me if she needed me to leave work. I reminded her that her health was the most important thing to me, and I would drop everything to take care of her. She thanked me and said she would let me know.

Later that afternoon, on the drive home, I called and asked her how she was doing. She said the bleeding had stopped, and she was icing it. I let out a sigh of relief.

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‘It’s my brain’

When I got home, after picking up dinner first, the house was dark, so I assumed she was asleep. I quietly went into the kitchen to put the takeout food on the counter and saw the bloody mess the cut had made. Blood was on the counter, the floor, and all over the sink. The blood was surprising — not because of the amount of it, but because there was blood at all. No matter how badly Jill is hurt, she can’t stand leaving a mess.

I tiptoed into the living room trying not to wake her, but as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I noticed she seemed to be moving. Then I heard a sniffle. I turned on the light, and Jill was balled up on the couch, crying.

I ran over to her, figuring the cut was bad enough that she needed to go to the hospital. “You need stitches, right?” I asked. Jill shook her head. I told her I wasn’t giving her a choice. If her wound was bad enough to make her cry, I knew she needed medical attention. Jill shook her head again.

“It’s not my finger, it’s my brain,” she said.

I had been so worried about her finger, I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Between sobs, she explained, “I picked up the cantaloupe and cut it. I held something while cutting it.”

I began to understand.

When I met her, I was clueless in the kitchen. For instance, I did not have proper knife skills. The one thing that bothered her the most was how I cut things. I would always pick up things and cut them while holding them. Jill would lovingly correct me by getting a cutting board out and, putting her hand over mine, show me how to properly use a knife. She would softly say, “You will cut yourself if you continue to do that.”

Every time I would see her slice something, it was always carefully and on a cutting board.

So, basically, what she was telling me was that she had cut herself because she was doing something she would never do. It wasn’t because she was clumsy, but because Huntington’s disease has started affecting her in a way that is changing the way she thinks and acts. This is one of the ill effects of this rare disease: It causes changes in the brain that lead to a severe decline in thinking and reasoning skills.

I hugged her and joked that I would take over in the kitchen if she wanted me to. She sniffled and said, “Thank you, but I like not having the fire alarm go off every time we eat.”

We laughed.

Hearing her say how Huntington’s is adversely affecting her brain made me sad. But what gives me hope is knowing that Jill and I will always rely on our love and sense of humor to overcome whatever obstacles Huntington’s causes in our lives.

Note: Huntington’s Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Huntington’s Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Huntington’s disease.