What is your name? Randy Redmon
How old are you? 43
At what age were you tested for HD? 42
At what age did you start showing symptoms of HD? Best guess 37
Which parent did you inherit HD from? mother
Do any of your siblings have HD/JHD? None of my siblings have been tested.
Did you get tested because you were showing symptoms or because you wanted to know your gene status? What was your reasoning for getting tested? I was having severe emotional issues.
How were you feeling after receiving your results? How did you cope? Getting the results was a whirlwind of emotions, but the biggest two were relief that I finally had an answer, mixed with worries of the future for my family. We took it head-on and started making very tough decisions to ensure that my wife and kids would be financially stable once I was no longer able to take care of them or myself. That gave me a sense of control over my situation, rather than letting the disease control me.
What are the top 3 hardest things you have to deal with due to the symptoms from HD? Depression, confusion, anger. The physical symptoms are in the beginning stages for me. Controlling my emotions and lack of impulse control has been extremely difficult.
Have you ever been arrested or questioned by law enforcement due to the symptoms of HD? No
What is something you love to do that is harder to do or can no longer do due to HD? I love coaching sports but had to quit.
Are you employed? I’m on disability because of a motorcycle accident in 2014. My wife and I were hit head-on by a drunk driver. The bright side of that is I was approved for disability before I knew about HD.
What is your biggest strength? Faith, my family, determination.
What is your biggest struggle? Controlling my emotions
How much did you know about HD by the time you were tested? I first heard of Huntington’s Disease when my aunt was diagnosed just a couple of years before I was tested. When she tested positive, I started researching it. I feel like I had a basic understanding of it when I was tested.
Are you enrolled in any clinical trials? No, I have not participated in any trials.
Do you have children? If no- Do you want children? If yes- How do you feel knowing that they have a 50/50 chance of having HD or JHD? I have four children. It absolutely terrifies me that I may have passed this on to them.
How do you describe HD to people? I say it’s a genetic disease causing my brain to slowly deteriorate.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? There are a lot of places I’d like to see, but I LOVE the Smoky Mountains. Even though I’ve been there several times, it’s my absolute favorite place. At least so far anyway.
If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be, and what would you say to them? Someone who would be interested and able to turn my book “The Long Road To Blessed “ into a movie. It would be a dream come true to see my autobiography turned into an actual movie.