I am the DIFFERENCE stories

I AM THE DIFFERENCE

Families impacted by Huntington disease each find their own way to make a difference. Read the stories below for inspiration and click on the I am the DIFFERENCE button to sign up for updates on HSG trials.


Click to sign up for updates on HSG trials

Help4HD Blog Radio features I am the DIFFERENCE campaign

March 30th, 2017 Huntington Study Group Help4HD gave the Huntington Study Group the opportunity on its radio show to update the community on our many current projects, including the I am the DIFFERENCE campaign. Katrina Hamel, VP of Help4HD, hosted the show with guests Ann Nelson, an HD community member and participant in the campaign, and Heather Hare, HSG’s director of
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Lauren Holder: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 22nd, 2017 Huntington Study Group Huntington disease (HD) came into Lauren Holder’s life was she was 15 years old. Lauren’s grandfather Rose had been estranged from much of his family because he’d been aggressive and because they thought he’d had a drinking problem. Lauren’s parents were the only ones who kept in touch and tried to help him by bringing
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Katrina Hamel: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 16th, 2017 Huntington Study Group I am the DIFFERENCE No one talked about Huntington disease (HD) in Katrina Hamel’s house when she was growing up. No one told her that her grandmother took her own life because of it or that there was a biological reason for her mother’s anger. Katrina didn’t hear about HD until she and her brothers
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Katie Jackson: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 16th, 2017 Huntington Study Group I am the DIFFERENCE Katie and Mike were friends for years and then in college, something clicked. They fell in love. They had a daughter, and few years later, a son. Mike found his calling and became a Sheriff’s deputy. Life fell into place. Then Mike’s uncle called. Mike hadn’t been in touch with his
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Chris O’Brien: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 16th, 2017 Huntington Study Group I am the DIFFERENCE By the time Chris O’Brien was born, his mother was already showing signs of Huntington disease (HD). He was the seventh and last of Alice and Dr. David O’Brien’s children, and like many of his siblings, he was born with a zeal for life. In his junior year at Yale University,
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Cory Sargent

Cory Sargent: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 16th, 2017 Huntington Study Group CORY’S VOICE I came into this world a loving boy. Ran and laughed and played with all my toys. I was a normal kid until one day, When my body and mind wouldn’t let me play. As the days went by things got harder to do, Just to eat, think and turn my head to
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Rusty and Theresa: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 16th, 2017 Huntington Study Group I am the DIFFERENCE Theresa’s mother was in a car accident near her home outside Atlanta and doctors thought she might have had a brain injury as a result. Eventually, doctors figured out that she had Huntington disease (HD). The adults in the family had a family meeting and decided they wouldn’t tell anyone outside the
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Ann and David Nelson: I am the DIFFERENCE

March 16th, 2017 Huntington Study Group I am the DIFFERENCE Early on in their relationship, Ann and David Nelson decided they would prepare as if Dave had the Huntington disease (HD) gene, but they would live as if he didn’t. They travelled a lot. Greece, Italy, white water rafting in the Grand Canyon, camping, biking, scuba diving. “Our friends used to say,
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Why participating in clinical trials is important to Katie

August 28th, 2015 Heather Hare Participating in Huntington’s disease research is important to Katie Moser. Katie, 34, is gene positive and showing no symptoms of HD. She has a full-time job, friends, and a house, but she still chooses to take the time to participate in the trials and studies she can. She’s even driven five hours from her home
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