My mother had HD and she was very sick for most of my life I do remember she was sent to a nursing home when I was five. She used to come home on the weekend and I used to get so excited for that.I have many memories of her in her chair in the kitchen she was not able to do stuff like before, she was very jerky and was not able to walk straight, she was very wobbly. My mother had a drinking problem. I do remember her and my father arguing when I was younger over this.I had so much love for my mother I still do. She passed away when I was 9 years old. She was only 38 years old. I did learn that Huntington’s could be passed on in the genes and that worried me a lot. So I spent so much time worrying over this and contemplating if I wanted to know if I had the same gene. It’s terrifying to see your own parent go through what they went through knowing that could be your fate. I did decide when I turned 18 that I would get tested I went through the testing process and I did get the unfortunate news of that I do myself have Huntington’s Disease. My cag repeat is 55. That was a shock to everyone. I did notice my hands would be moving themselves when I was working at the time before I got diagnosed. I am 21 years old and I have some symptoms of Huntington’s. I do have the involuntary movement and I get so tired all the time. I have achieved much more now than I ever did before, I went back to college, I did lose weight and got fit.
There is hope at the end of the tunnel.
Sarah
For more on Sarah’s HD journey visit her Instagram- sarahgannon99
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