Printed on Sunday September 9th 2012.
Published on Thestar.com on Friday September 5th, 2012

Nagui Morcos drafted this chronology of the daily physical and emotional challenges he faced with Huntington’s disease:

Sleep apnea, obstructive and central: I sleep with a CPAP mask. I get up 4-6 times/night & also have to go the washroom.
Urinary problems: I run to the washroom to pee almost hourly during the day.
I have elevated PSA levels in my prostate.
My thermostat is OOC: I get mostly hot (varying degrees), and then I get cold. In a day, I am rotating between 3 different tops.
My blood circulation is wonky. In the night, my quads are almost numb — when I get up to go to washroom, I have to massage them. When I am reading, my quads also get numb — I have to constantly move positions.
Reading: I can no longer read small type, with or without glasses. I can’t read anything that I hold — everything has to be propped up.
My sense of smell is no longer. Going slowly are my taste buds.
Napping: I nap once or twice a day, for 1 to 1.5 hours.
My memory: I have more trouble retrieving names and words.
My immune system is compromised - I get colds back to back like I never did before.
I am exhausted ALL the time.
I am now edgier. I am less able to control my emotions & blow up more frequently.
Plus all the known symptoms of Huntington disease - movement, balance, speaking, swallowing. I feel like a senior citizen - I do everything in slow motion. I feel that my Huntington disease has aged me 15-20 years.