Neuro Note 3

For my third neuro note, I chose to watch a TED talk on a woman named Danielle Valenti’s story about her mother with Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease is described as one of the worst diseases known to man because it makes the person lose their memory, muscle function, and coordination. Also, this disease is known to cause psychiatric behaviors. Danielle’s mother had this disease for two years prior to telling her daughter. The reason her mother kept it a secret was because she did not want to worry her and did not want to be a burden. However, when Danielle found out she quickly wanted to help as much as she could. They transferred Danielle’s mother to a specialized Huntington’s’ nursing home where she lived the remainder of her days. Her mother chose to kill herself by refusing food for 67 days. After 67 days, her body shut down and she passed away. Danielle explains that she had to make the decision to either force her mother to eat or respect her mother’s wishes and allow her to starve herself. Ultimately, she respected her mother’s wishes and did not stand in her way. Danielle explains how that was the hardest decision she probably would ever have to make but she is happy her mother is now at peace. After her mother passed away, she decided to have the genetic test done to see if she was a carrier of the disease. Unfortunately, her results came back positive meaning she will become symptomatic at some point in her life. Danielle explained how after her results she found herself feeling sorry for herself and depressed. However, she did not want to live out the rest of her life waiting to become sick and wanted to find happiness. This is one of the reasons she became a spokesperson for Huntington’s disease.

            I found this video inspiring because of how brave Danielle appeared to be. She stated how everyone advised her against the genetic testing because there is no cure for the disease, and she would 100% get it if she was a carrier. However, she could not move on from her mom’s death without knowing her fate. As an OT, I will most likely encounter a client with this disease, and I think this video helped me understand it better. I chose to do this neuro note on Huntington’s disease because it is somewhat confusing to me. However, after watching this video I feel better informed on the disease. I encourage everyone with an interest in this specific disease to watch this TED talk!



Talks, T. (2015, December 04). Retrieved August 19, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JRwCdmewl0