I am a Mexican American Indian, I have brown hair and eyes. I have a younger sister and a younger brother. I love baseball and football. I love to listen to music, especially live. I love my friends and I love my family. I also happen to have Huntington’s Disease. My family has lost many to this horrible disease, my Uncle Joe, my Uncle Jessie, and my Grandmother. Most recently my mother succumbed to the Disease on February 27, 2015. To date the only negatives in my family are my Uncle Ralph and my brother Mario. My sister Diane tested positive in 2002 only 6 months later she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy and chemotherapy. We thought surely we would loose her to the Cancer but she beat it. She is currently symptomatic with Huntington’s Disease. She has two children, my niece and nephew who are At-Risk. I am also currently symptomatic.
In my late Twenties I joined an AMAZING support group in Orange County. After being there for a few years, I became a peer facilitator and started running one of the groups within our support group. One of the reasons I loved the Orange County Support Group so much was because they would split the group up into Caregivers, Symptomatic and At-Risk. (It was much easier to talk about the trials of caring for my mom if she was not in the room listening.) I have been a Huntington’s Disease walk participant every year but one since I became aware of them. I have attended two Huntington’s Disease Galas’, I was fortunate enough to attend the San Diego Conference on a scholarship many years ago and I am currently a part of the ENROLL Clinical Trials.
Through these experiences I furthered my education of the disease and formed bonds with some amazing young adults like myself who were also at risk. I was honored to be asked to be this years Huntington’s Disease Walk’s Ambassador. I gladly accepted and am thankful for this opportunity to share my story again with even more people. I used to hope for a life without Huntington’s Disease. Now I hope for a WORLD without Huntington’s Disease.