Our Story So Far...

My Husband (Curtis) and I (Erin) decided to start this blog to hopefully spread awareness about Huntington's disease and also give hope and encouragement to those going through this disease. So I want to start by sharing our story leading up to this week.
My amazing hubby and I have been married for almost 9 years now and we have been blessed with three of the cutest kiddos ever. Curtis's dad had a disease called Huntington's disease which is genetic so we have always known that there was a good chance that Curtis would have it as well. His dad was diagnosed in his 40's so even though we knew it could start at any age we always assumed we had till his 40's till we had to worry about it. So even though it was always in the back of our minds we had decided to ignore it for awhile. A few months ago it got to the point that we couldn't ignore it anymore though. Curtis had fallen a couple times which could have been unrelated but it wasn't normal for him. He was having a lot of issues at his work, having a hard time remembering things or responding quickly under stressful situations. One day after a really bad morning at work I got one of the hardest messages ever, "I think I need to be tested for Huntington's." I pretty much cried for a few days straight because I was so overwhelmed by the thought of it starting already. He went into his regular doctor who agreed it was time to start testing. The main test that they do is a genetic test. This test has still not been done because our insurance has been making it difficult. So even though we really want to be officially diagnosed we are still waiting. The other part of the test is to see a neurologist. We went to meet our neurologist a few weeks ago and loved her. She did some basic tests for short term memory and balance and then asked tons of questions about symptoms and family history. She told us that she believes he is showing symptoms already and that his high stress job for the last 13 years has probably contributed to it coming on so early and so strongly. She told us that it was no longer safe for Curtis to work at his current job so she suggested getting a normal non stressful job(we are still trying to figure out what that looks like exactly). She ordered an MRI which we will get the results of on Friday. She also sent him to start getting physical therapy to work on his balance and gait. So even though he has not been officially diagnosed because we are waiting on the genetic test, at this point it would be very surprising if the test came back negative. We know that God could definitely give us a miracle and give us a surprising answer so that is what we are praying for but we know that He is in control no matter what the results are. At this point we are living our lives like he has it because even if it came back negative he obviously needs a change of pace so we can figure out what is going on with his health.
Because of him needing to switch jobs we have decided to move back to hometown to be near family. Both of us will need to work because he wont be able to have a high paying job. Thankfully having family near us will make that possible. We are excited and nervous to be moving and basically starting a new life full of unknowns. We really feel like God has orchestrated everything perfectly for this move so we are trusting that He has an amazing and perfect plan for us in Southern California. He already knows what jobs we will find and what church we will find our place in, and I can't wait for him to reveal that too us.
For all of you have been praying for us, thank you so much! We feel the peace and comfort from those prayers every moment. Please keep praying for Curty's health and clear answers regarding test results. Please pray that we would have wisdom about jobs to seek out. And pray that the kids will adjust well to so many new things.
We will be keeping you updated on our journey and will also be sharing facts about Huntington's disease so that you can all understand more about this disease.
Thanks for reading our first post!