Daniel after wrestling with the decision on whether or not to have the test, was tested whilst in Montreal, Canada in October 2015.  Regretfully he tested positive and therefore has the certainty that sometime in the future, the genes can mutate and start the brain cell invasion, which will then develop at some point into the full blown Huntington’s condition.  He is in truth living with a catastrophic time bomb inside him, which can explode at any moment.  As other potential Huntington’s sufferers say “they are living with a wall of fear everyday of their lives”

Over Skype, Daniel told his immediate family, of the test results.  We were all devastated by the news.  However to Daniel’s credit he showed an extreme strength of character, being more concerned for the family and how we would take the news, than for himself.  From my own standpoint I have shed many tears since hearing the news. Uppermost in my mind is the nightmare that I will not be there to support him when the time arrives, that he needs care the most, others will have to take on the support role. Daniel loves and still plays football, squash, ice hockey and trains in Tae Kwondo, He enjoys competitive games of snooker and golf with his father. He is a longtime fan of Portsmouth and from childhood has followed the fortunes of Manchester United.

At this moment Daniel is extremely strong.  He is far away from the day to day support of his many friends and family in the UK, working at the University of Massachusetts Medical School to achieve his academic goals whilst undertaking research work, In 2020 he worked in collaboration with other laboratories worldwide seeking a solution to the Covid-19 pandemic and has now returned to his main research project seeking solutions to helping not only Huntington’s sufferers but others with a genetic disease.

I admire him for his courage and his determined view of his future life with HD. On hearing the results of his test, he could have just withdrawn and surrendered to his fate, thankfully he did not.  The charity is also dedicated to his name.