Life With HD and a Dog Named Flo

After noticing some unusual mental and physical behavior, appointments with and tests by a neurologist, we got the startling diagnosis of Huntington's Disease (HD) in March 2010. It was an unwelcome surprise, as we were not aware that this genetic brain disease was in her father's family. Mary's reaction was, "I don't want to know that..." but now, five years later, she's resigned to her fate. I was glad to know what we were dealing with but had no idea that I would spend my retirement as a 24x7 caregiver. We've been married 54 years and had plans to continue the world travel that began in Japan after our marriage. But it was not to be. Our new adventure is learning about and managing the symptoms for this neurologically degenerative disease for which there is no cure. Although our family has been shocked, and we are grieving for the Mary we knew, we are encouraged by the significant progress in research during the past five years, and the increasing national awareness of HD in documentary filmmaking like The Lion's Mouth Opens. HD often first shows up with involuntary movement known as chorea (Greek for dance) and/or tentative gait. Mary had begun to walk very slowly, pulling me back if I had her arm. And, as home manager, she was having difficulty making decisions, paying bills, handling checks and compulsively collecting newspapers. In the last year she has become more emotional -- sudden crying, anger, angst. The diagnosing neurologist referred us to the...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news