A tribute to the kindness of strangers in life with Huntington’s

My wife, Jill, and I are what you might call the walking wounded these days.

My elbow had been swollen and sore for weeks due to bursitis, although I kept telling myself it would get better. It didn’t, until I went to the doctor and got some anti-inflammatory medicine.

Jill’s shoulder has been giving her trouble, and somehow she managed to break her toe. We’re quite the pair.

The problem is that neither of us wants to admit when we’re in pain. We just forge ahead with whatever needs doing, consequences be damned. It’s either stubbornness, pride, or the fact that we’ve already surrendered so much to Huntington’s disease that we refuse to give up our small acts of independence.

So when I came home from work the other day, I wasn’t surprised to find Jill in the living room with a large, heavy box. What did surprise me was the story she had to tell.

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She’d been at the store, navigating furniture boxes stacked in the aisle, determined to get to the box she wanted. With her characteristic lack of self-preservation, she started rearranging the other boxes that were on top of it. One by one, she moved them aside, getting closer to her target. When she finally reached the box she wanted and bent down to pick it up, a man standing nearby stopped her.

“Don’t pick that up,” he warned.

Jill paused for a second, then looked at him with that mischievous smile I know so well.

“Have you been talking to my husband?” she asked.

The man didn’t laugh. He was serious. He didn’t want her to hurt herself.

Jill tried to explain that she could handle it on her own. She’s said this to me countless times, and I’d recognize that defensive tone anywhere. But the stranger, a man who owed her nothing, persisted.

“That might sound like a good idea to you,” he said, “but not to your back.”

Then he did something remarkable. He asked someone stocking nearby shelves to help her.

As Jill recounted this story to me, I initially laughed. The image of her joking with a stranger about my overprotectiveness was amusing. But then something shifted. This was much more than a funny anecdote.

“I wish I could reach out to thank him,” I told her. The truth is, I worry about her constantly. I want to protect her at all costs, but I can’t always be around. Her stubbornness — the same quality that helps her face Huntington’s disease with such courage — also makes her take risks I can’t always prevent.

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I felt something release in my chest. I sighed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I relaxed, and for the first time in a while, I shared something hopeful with her.

“I have a little more peace knowing that other people in our society can see someone in need of help and don’t wait for an answer,” I said.

Living with Huntington’s disease means learning to accept help, even when we don’t want to. It means acknowledging that we’re vulnerable and our bodies don’t always cooperate. And that independence sometimes requires interdependence. These are hard lessons for the walking wounded.

But that stranger in the store reminded me of something important: We’re not alone in this. There are people — complete strangers — who will step in to help when they see someone struggling. They won’t wait to be asked. They won’t look away. They’ll just help.

In a world that often feels indifferent to suffering, that man offered my wife more than just assistance with a heavy box. He offered me peace of mind. He reminded us both that kindness still exists, community still matters, and sometimes the help we need most comes from those we least expect.

For that unnamed stranger in the store aisle: Thank you. You’ll never know how much your simple act of kindness meant to both of us.

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.