Huntington's Disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that affects the nerve cells in the brain and causes them to break down. HD is genetic, and parents who have the disease have a 50% chance of passing on the disease to their children. Charles Sabine, a 57-year-old former journalist and producer has the disease, as well as his older brother, who is in the late stage of HD. Charles' father passed away from HD. Charles has difficulty with feeding and dressing independently, maintaining control over body movements, and cognitive deficits. Occupational therapy interventions for Charles could include energy conservation, compensatory strategies, adaptive equipment for eating, as well as postural changes to decrease his level of fatigue. People who have HD do not die directly from the disease, but from choking due to weakness in muscles used for respiration.
Before Alicia's presentation, I was not aware that this disease was hereditary and could be passed on to children. Charles did not choose to find out he had the gene for HD until he was in his 40s, which is typically a later age of onset. I don't know how I would feel if I knew someone in my family had the disease and I had a chance of getting it. On one hand, knowing would help me feel prepared on how to handle it whenever I did develop symptoms. On the other hand, not knowing would make me appreciate my life and live every day like it's my last.
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