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HOPES For Kids (Non-Flash, Part 7) "Bryan's Dad Has Huntington's Disease"
An Illustrated Introduction to HD, For Kids & Families
Scenes 21-23
The next week at school, Bryan’s dad came to pick him up and Bryan’s friend Joe said, “Your dad walks funny!” This time Bryan knew the reason why his dad walked differently. He was no longer angry at his dad. He wasn’t even angry at Joe. He realized that it was not his dad’s fault for changing; it was the Huntington’s disease that was making his dad act differently from before. Bryan knew that it would be hard for his friends to understand why his dad was acting differently, because they did not know the things that he had learned about Huntington’s disease. Maybe someday he could teach them about the huntingtin protein and nerve cells, so that they would understand too. But for now, his main focus was to keep a positive attitude and not allow these comments to hurt him. He knew that he would be much happier this way.
“Yeah,” said Bryan, “My dad has a medical problem. But he’s a real sport about it, and I’m learning to be a sport about it too. We walk and run less these days, but we still have fun together doing new things.”
On the ride home, Bryan’s dad said, “Hey Bryan, I know I don’t throw the baseball as well as I used to, but I can sure catch fish. I was thinking that this weekend we could go down to lake and go fishing.”
“That sounds great, Dad!” Bryan said. He loved to go fishing, but he was even more excited by the chance to hang out with his dad.
Bryan and his dad were wonderful fishermen! They both reeled in six fish! As they were getting ready to go, Bryan’s dad said, “Wow Bryan, this has been a blast! Thank you so much for coming out here with me.”
Bryan quickly replied, “No Dad, thank you!”
Bryan realized that although his dad was changing and could no longer do some of the things he had done before, they could still do plenty of other fun things together. He knew that his dad’s Huntington’s disease would present tough problems in the future, but he loved his dad and he knew that his dad loved him. No matter what the future had in store, nothing could ever change that.
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Last Modified: 10-24-04
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The next week at school, Bryan’s dad came to pick him up and Bryan’s friend Joe said, “Your dad walks funny!” This time Bryan knew the reason why his dad walked differently. He was no longer angry at his dad. He wasn’t even angry at Joe. He realized that it was not his dad’s fault for changing; it was the Huntington’s disease that was making his dad act differently from before. Bryan knew that it would be hard for his friends to understand why his dad was acting differently, because they did not know the things that he had learned about Huntington’s disease. Maybe someday he could teach them about the huntingtin protein and nerve cells, so that they would understand too. But for now, his main focus was to keep a positive attitude and not allow these comments to hurt him. He knew that he would be much happier this way.
On the ride home, Bryan’s dad said, “Hey Bryan, I know I don’t throw the baseball as well as I used to, but I can sure catch fish. I was thinking that this weekend we could go down to lake and go fishing.”
Bryan and his dad were wonderful fishermen! They both reeled in six fish! As they were getting ready to go, Bryan’s dad said, “Wow Bryan, this has been a blast! Thank you so much for coming out here with me.”
