Neuro Note #3

Ted Talk by Danielle Valenti 
Facing Death Full of Life 

This Ted Talk is about a young woman who found out that her mom had Huntington's Disease. Her mom tried to hide that from her, but she eventually found out when she had to be put in a Huntington's Disease nursing home. She talked about how hard the disease was on her mom, and eventually, she just stopped eating because she didn't want to live that way anymore.

After Danielle's mom passed away, she knew she wanted to get the genetic testing done to see if she had the positive gene for Huntington's Disease. People didn't understand why she wanted to know, but she did. Unfortunately, the results came back positive. After the heartbreaking news, she was not sad at first. She said she walked around with a smile on her face as if nothing was wrong. Eventually, she went through this stage where she felt really bad for herself all of the time. Eventually she decided that she wanted to start living again. She knew it was going to be a struggle every single day, but she knew it would be worth it. She knows that some days are going to be harder than others, but if she commits to happiness, she will eventually get there.

Ted Talks are my favorite because you get to hear firsthand about other's experiences, which otherwise you could not do. I love hearing how people overcome their struggles when they are thrown challenges in life.

After we covered Huntington's Disease in class, I knew I wanted to hear about someone's experience with it first hand. This video really inspired me and opened my eyes. You never know what tomorrow brings, so never take a single day for granted.

I definitely recommend this Ted Talk to everyone. Even if you are not super interested in Huntington's Disease, it paints a really good picture of how to never give up and to always strive for happiness and to put your happiness first.

The link for the Ted Talk follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JRwCdmewl0

Source:
Talks, T. (2015, December 04). Facing Death Full of Life | Danielle Valenti | TEDxBerkshires. Retrieved August 18, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JRwCdmewl0