In 1999 my husband and I had been rearing calves for four years. That Christmas my husband decided he was not happy with the turkey I was buying for our Christmas dinner and believed we could provide something better for ourselves and friends alike. We then approached KellyBronze Turkeys to ask if we could become one of their farmers and we have enjoyed rearing the very best of turkeys ever since!
Five years later, in 2004, my husband was diagnosed with Huntington's disease. The shock hit us hard as I had already experienced coping with my father-in-law with the same condition and knew what a difficult road lay ahead. All I can say is ‘thank goodness I had the turkeys! ‘
Huntington's disease is caused by a faulty gene in your DNA; a gene is a piece of hereditary information which is present in every cell of the body and tells cells what to do and when to do it. The faulty gene affects the body’s nervous system changing the whole person - body, mind and behavior. Huntington’s disease is hereditary with each child of a parent with Huntington's having a 50% chance of inheriting it. There are around 8,000 people in the UK affected by Huntington's and around 32,000 at risk of developing it.
Huntington’s disease gradually progresses and there is no cure. Living with Huntington’s means having to be open to making changes to your lives and learning to take one day at a time. Huntington’s can be very challenging for all members of the family, whether they have the disease or not. Research into Huntington's disease is showing positive results giving hope to future generations of families affected by the disease.
All profits from the sale of this calendar will go to the Huntington’s Disease Association (Registered Charity no. 296453). They are the only national charity supporting people and families affected by Huntington’s disease across England and Wales. You can find out more information about them and their work at www.hda.org.uk