Kerry Eldred, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, tested positive for Huntington’s disease in 2009. She shares how she stays grounded and focused despite the uncertainty ahead.
Transcript
I think emotionally coping is a daily endeavor. Sometimes I am just trying to get through each day. And if that is too much, then each moment.
And that’s a really important thing because for me to cope from genetic testing onward, after you get your test results, at least back then — there was no follow-up. It’s suddenly, here you go. And then everyone treated me like I’m the walking dead.
And, you know, so sorry for me, but then it’s like, “What do I do now?” ‘Cause I’m not so symptomatic, but it’s — it’s like, yeah, you’re going to have it. And it’s — it’s been going.
So I just try to take each moment, like try to get through each moment. And if I can get through each moment, those moments will add up to minutes, will add up to, you know, half an hour, hour. And then I can get through a whole day like that. Just doing it like little by little.
If somebody was like, what is your mantra? Delay Huntington’s onset. Ever since the genetic testing diagnosis and all that, they say everyone with Huntington’s is different.
And even though your mutation count corresponds with onset or age of onset, there’s so many other variables and environmental factors and things that people don’t know. So I think, well, I take it a moment at a time. And I try to do what I can that delays onset.
