Hope Springs Eternal

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By Heather D. - 2007-10-30
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Most people would struggle with having this brutal illness called Huntington’s disease.

Most people see it being horrible. I don’t. The trick is seeing Huntington’s for what it is… A blessing in disguise as something horrible.

It is a blessing to me. Tragedy can bring families closer together; in ways only illness can affect. Many people will not ever have that close bond. They will take each other for granted.  My husband and I will never take each other for granted.  Nobody should.  If someone dies and you took them for granted. You will always wish that you told them you love them.

Consider another thing that is good for us. Live like you are dying. Live your life like you will never live it again.  Nobody ever knows what day they will perish. Every sky can be bluer. Every sun can be brighter.  Every day can be more beautiful.  Everything can be bright.  I live this way every day. When I go for walks I do notice how beautiful everything is. Life can be beautiful if people try living it. 

This leads me to my next point. Always have hope. When I got tested they told me I was the most positive person they have ever seen.  I immediately asked about possible cures. They are real and someday cures will be available. When I found out I had HD, there was already so much hope. There is much research; and many treatments are available for this illness. There is some much hope about the cures too. Every month a new discovery is made. They are getting real breakthroughs.

Always fight for happiness. It is a fight worth winning. We deserve to be happy, and to live fulfilling lives. It is an uphill battle some days. It is hard when you have all these mental symptoms. I know since I am in the phase right now. It is a never ending struggle. It will be worth it in the end. 

Another thing that is good is we have a lot of good years before we get sick. A lot of illnesses and diseases don’t. We can get a lot of good accomplished during these bright years.  And later when we are sick we can remember our lives fondly.  Try to volunteer when you are sick too. Nothing makes a person feel better than volunteering. It makes you feel normal again. I would recommend volunteering for the HD society.  They know your illness really, really well. My husband and I did it in Calgary. There were a few HD symptomatic people volunteering. I found them very inspirational.

I became a Nurse. I had some good, good years doing that. I loved my patients. They loved me back. I first got into Nursing when I looked after Mom in the hospital. I thought after Nursing for a year, I wouldn’t be able to do this when I get sick. That’s when I went to SAIT in Calgary. I did one semester of Digital Graphics Communications. That is when I started experiencing HD symptoms.  I couldn’t do anymore semesters.  It is one of the bad things of the early onset. I was 23 when I got sick. My Mom was around the same age too. I learned so much in one semester. I can make graphics and run WebPages. I am sick, and I am doing it right now. It does not bother me too much. I got everything I wanted out of it.  My Profs were nice. They showed ways to do everything faster and easier, so that even I was sick it would be easier for me to do. I had to miss lots of days, because I was just getting sicker. They were really nice there. All of them knew I had HD.

An illness can be more than unhappiness. Happiness is a good struggle. Well worth the work. We should never let HD own us. We own it.