Blue and Purple - James Valvano

"The Huntington's Poetry Project: Blue and Purple" - Volume 1 WeHaveAFace.org Global HUBS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to broaden global awareness of Huntington's disease and Juvenile Huntington's disease. WeHaveAFace.org is based out of Saint Cloud, Florida with HUBS in the USA, Canada, and England. With the participation of the international Huntington's and Juvenile Huntington's disease community, we are pleased to release the first volume of "The Huntington's Poetry Project: Blue and Purple" - poems from our amazing international community. Huntington's disease is a hereditary, degenerative, and terminal brain disease for which there is no current treatment or cure. Huntington's disease is also abbreviated-HD, or Juvenile Huntington's disease-JHD, is an autosomal dominant disease. This means that only one parent must have the mutated gene for a child to inherit the disease. Huntington's does not skip generations. This disease slowly diminishes the affected individual's ability to walk, talk, and reason. In time, the person with HD relies completely upon others for their personal care. HD affects the lives of entire families - emotionally, psychologically, socially, and economically. HD affects males, females, and knows no ethnic and racial boundaries. Many of us within the international community describe the symptoms of JHD/HD as having, ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Bipolar disorder, and Schizophrenia - all at the same time. Simply, Huntington's disease is more than a physical disease! Every child of a person with Huntington's disease has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the fatal gene. Often, the individual with HD might seem to be (or act) "drunk" to the on-looker, due to the physical attributes of the disease. Juvenile Huntington's disease (JHD) affects younger individuals. Upwards of 10 percent of known cases of Huntington's disease is the Juvenile form. Individuals who suffer with JHD experience seizures and many other horrific attributes of this disease, however the onset of physical and emotional symptoms happens earlier in life. Diagnosis of JHD usually happens when symptoms manifest before the age of twenty. Important Fact: Every person on the planet has the Huntington gene within their DNA. It is only when this gene expands (via the parent) that the offspring may be at risk, and/or have the disease. *100% of net proceeds are allocated to Juvenile Huntington's disease research, and to our Huntington's Assistance Fund.