Inside the O’Briens

Description^

Inside the O’Briens follows the story of Joe O’Brien, a middle age Boston police officer. He is married to Rosie O’Brien, with whom he has four children: Patrick, JJ, Meghan and Katie, all of whom still reside in the same triple-decker house in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Joe lives a content life and has very little problems within his family, despite a stressful job as an active duty police officer.

However, Joe and his family begin to notice changes in his behavior and movements. Joe is quick to anger and begins to loose his coordination. His wife, Rosie, convinces Joe to seek medical help. Sadly, he is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. This news comes to a shock for Joe, whose family never acknowledged a history of the disease, until he re-considered the symptoms of his mother’s “alcoholism” many decades ago.

The story outlines the challenges Joe’s family must face as they not only navigate the disease progression of their father, but the fact that all four siblings have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. The book is a challenging read, accurately portraying the unique problems HD families all over the world face.

Genetic Testing^

Genetic testing, in addition to reproductive strategies, is one of the most controversial aspects of the HD experience. Despite the presence of a gene test, estimates show only 5-10% of all at-risk individuals choose to undergo predictive genetic testing (Oster et al., 2011 ). These statistics sometimes frustrate clinicians, leading to rash or coerced genetic testing decisions between the patient and doctor.

Rosie, Joe’s wife, accompanies Joe on a consultation with neurologist Dr. Hagler. Rosie notes the various movement symptoms Joe does not notice due to a lack of proprioception, or the ability to detect one’s body position. Dr. Hagler requests information regarding Joe’s family history and discovers that his mother was hospitalized for “alcoholism.” She also has Joe perform several neurological tests without explaining the reasoning behind these tests. Despite Joe’s insistence that he is just having a knee problem, Dr. Hagler suddenly diagnoses Joe with Huntington’s disease, but admits they should get an MRI and genetic testing to confirm her diagnosis (76-108).

Without any consent or transparency, Dr. Hagler diagnoses Joe with a devastating neurological disease with no counseling or explanation, causing great psychological stress to the family. Joe is furious that a medical professional could be so irresponsible in her prognosis:

“Huntington’s. It’s pure malarkey, and Joe won’t give it any stock. Police officers deal in facts, not speculation, and the fact is, this doctor threw out this big, scary medical word without having done any real medical tests, without knowing a damn thing. It was an offhand, irresponsible remark. It’s practically malpractice, to put a word like that out there, into their innocent heads, with no facts to back it up. It’s complete bullshit is what it is” (84).

Genova does an excellent job of highlighting the ways in which professionals can negatively impact a diagnosis experience. For families unaware of a history of Huntington’s disease, an abrupt clinical diagnosis with little explanation or consent can be harmful.

Furthermore, a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease can be devastating because of the implications it can have for younger generations. In the case of Joe’s family, his diagnosis means that his four children also must acknowledge they each have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease.

Genova highlights the tensions this statistic can cause among family members, especially when it comes to making the decision to test. In one section of the book, Genova creates a dialogue between the four siblings regarding their decision to test. The brothers, JJ and Patrick, are frustrated by the fact that they must undergo a long genetic testing process to find out if they have inherited the disease. Patrick refuses to get tested as he does not want to do any of the counseling.

JJ decides to test as his wife, Colleen, is pregnant with their first child. Meghan, one of the sisters, asks JJ if he and Colleen would have an abortion if he tested positive for the disease and so did the baby. [For more information on fetal testing or family planning in general, click here.] The stress is palpable. JJ doesn’t have an answer to his sister’s question.

The siblings discuss the fear that they’ve already started exhibiting symptoms. Meg, a ballet dancer, believes she’s messing up more in her routines. It is not unusual for those at risk to self-identify or diagnose based off behaviors that may or may not be related to Huntington’s disease. Her siblings try to reassure her that it is nothing.

At the end of the conversation, JJ and Meg decide to pursue testing, Patrick will not, and the youngest, Kate, is undecided.

Kate decides to pursue the genetic counseling process. She meets with Eric Clarkson, a genetic counselor. She does so after an upsetting neurological exam by Dr. Hagler, the same woman that analyzed Kate’s father’s movements. At the end of the exam, Dr. Hagler tells Kate that everything looks normal, leaving Kate with mixed emotions. She’s spent the last few weeks studying herself, trying to identify signs of the disease. Now she can finally stop. In Kate’s words: “That neuro exam was like surviving fifteen rounds in a boxing ring. She’s been declared the winner, but she still got knocked around” (162).

Eric takes over for Dr. Hagler to discuss genetic testing with Kate, asking her about the uncertainty surrounding her decision to test. Katie admits to Eric that she believes she has the gene because she looks like her dad’s mother. Eric reassures her that physical resemblance has nothing to do with HD inheritance. He uses this misconception as an opportunity to go over basic genetics, explaining DNA, chromosomes, and genes.

Additionally, Eric asks Kate to articulate what life would be like if she tested negative (“biggest relief ever”) and if she tested positive, along with her siblings testing positive. Kate says she “wouldn’t jump off the Tobin [bridge]” (168). Kate is getting increasingly uncomfortable with the intensity of the conversation. She grows increasingly impatient and tries to ascertain the reason for this “interrogation.”

Eric explains to her that he will not deny her the test. However, he says, “we want you to understand what you’re getting into and have the tools to deal with it. We feel responsibility for how you’re going to react” (171). He says that Kate can come back in two weeks to get the test or continue to visit with each other until she feels ready. He emphasizes that he will deliver her results to her in-person, and not over the telephone, a common best practice of genetic testing.

Overall, Eric Clarkson does an excellent job explaining the disease to Kate, as well as the emotional implications of genetic testing.

Family Members with HD^

Many children from Huntington’s disease families must reconcile the fact that they have watched a parent suffer from a long, debilitating illness. This experience can cause trauma and psychological stress, especially as many of these children must also face their own personal realities of the disease.

Joe is no exception:

“But while he’s been doing his best to avoid falling down the dark, muddy rabbit hole of Huntington’s disease, he has been thinking a lot about his mother. Joe stops turning the screwdriver and runs his index finger over the scar by the outside corner of his left eye…His mother threw a potato masher across the room…Joe likes to believe that the scar by his eye is the only thing he got from his mother, a single souvenir of her madness” (85).

The disease can often strip individuals of their identities as well:

“The woman in that bed would never be able to read or sing or smile at him again. The woman in that bed was nobody’s mother” (87).

Grappling with Huntington’s disease can be a taxing feat considering the fact that multiple generations often have to deal with its consequences simultaneously. This burden is particularly evident when Joe must tell his children that they all have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease, in addition to the risk it poses to any children they plan on having. As described on page 122, the four siblings have great difficulty comprehending the magnitude of the situation. For JJ and his wife Colleen, it is far too real, as they reveal that Colleen is pregnant.

As is revealed later in the text, JJ tests positive for the faulty gene, meaning his child is now also at-risk for the disease. He and Colleen decide to keep the baby, despite the risk. As stated on page 202, “Joe prays everyday that the baby is healthy.” Joe also acknowledges that once the baby is born, the child cannot be tested until he or she makes the decision to do so, which at minimum is 18 years away, meaning he may never know whether or not it passes on to the next generation.

Employment^

Unemployment is perhaps one of the most difficult transitions for many HD patients living in their working prime. Joe, a police officer, must face this transition earlier than others due to the high intensity and dangers involved in his job. Before losing his position on the force, Joe is accused of directing traffic while drunk, a common misconception of individuals with HD. He had not yet revealed his diagnosis to anyone outside his closest circles. However, after several complaints and rumors, Joe must finally disclose his disease status to his boss. Joe must grapple with the fact that, at best, he may keep his job at a desk. Otherwise, his future on the force does not look promising (234).

Genova uses this crisis in Joe’s life to explain the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA). This piece of legislation “makes it illegal for employers to terminate an employee based on genetic information” (247). However, an employer retains the right to fire somebody if that individual poses a safety threat or cannot do his or her job effectively. This caveat means Joe cannot be protected by GINA, but perhaps this information can help other readers.

Suicide^

Suicidal ideation is one of the most pressing issues in the Huntington’s disease community. It is a difficult topic to discuss, but a matter that must be addressed in order to make progress and educate communities touched by the disease.

When Joe is accused of drunk policing, his co-worker mentions that “this time of year is brutal” (244). The community has seen three suicides in the month of January. Joe imagines the various ways these individuals may have killed themselves. The last one he imagines: “a cop eats his gun” (244). He then thinks this “last one is how he’d do it, if suicide were his plan.”

Joe spends several scenes of the book contemplating his death. Chapter 29 begins with the sentence, “The gun is still his plan.” Rosie dissuaded Joe from taking his own life before, but his ideation is still frequent. Joe finds himself obsessively checking his draw for the gun, just in case he decides he needs to use it. Katie, his youngest, is the one that has the most effective impact on Joe leaving his “perfect plan behind.”

The passage reads as follows:

“’We don’t know anyone else with HD. You’re the only example we have. We are going to learn how to live and die with HD from you, Dad’…

It’s the perfect plan. He’ll be teaching them the human thing to do, the victorious way out. The gun. He should check the gun” (273).

Through his conversation with Kate, Joe realizes the importance of his presence to his family. He decides that, personally, it would be better for him to not choose suicide.

Everyday Challenges^

While suicide and job loss often grab the headlines for HD communities, sometimes the everyday challenges are the hardest.

Joe describes his everyday encounter with strangers. Due to a lack of proprioception, or the ability to sense one’s body position, Joe can only perceive his movements “through the mirror of the guarded, unforgiving stares of strangers” (212). Otherwise, he cannot tell that his body is moving. Joe describes the feeling of having strangers stare at him, trying to pin him into categories like drunk, mentally impaired, harmless, violent, deranged. As Joe states, he is “horrifying, unacceptable, and then invisible” to these strangers.

Furthermore, Joe explains his symptoms by calling himself his own “stuntman.” With the combination of proprioception and anosognosia, he is unaware of the placement of his body. Not only does this cause him to move unexpectedly, but often with more force than intended. He also finds himself hard pressed to control extreme mood swings, often towards anger, which often makes him feel guilty as it can be extremely traumatizing for his family.

Joe also describes his challenges with the limited number of drugs on the market. While Tetrabenazine helps control his chorea, Joe must take less of it as it increases his suicidal ideation. The constant management of drugs to control for various symptoms of HD can be exhausting.

One of the greatest mechanisms for coping with the daily challenges with the disease is a support system. When Joe attends a baseball game with his friends, he must face the unforgiving glares of strangers bewildered by his movements. However, his friends and family are there to support him, melting away the attempts of others to judge him. As the Red Sox win the game, Joe “takes a moment, wanting to remember this, the joy of the win, the beers and pizza, the electric energy of the crowd, a night at Fenway with his best friends and his two sons. His seat ain’t empty yet. And tonight, he enjoyed every wicked awesome second of it” (330).

Conclusion^

Lisa Genova provides readers with one of the most comprehensive looks into the lives of those affected by Huntington’s disease. She touches on issues like Juvenile Huntington’s disease, insurance, genetic testing, drugs, and more, all the while providing and engaging story for readers from all walks of life. Genova does an excellent job proving she did her research. Whether it was speaking with HD families, connecting with the Huntington’s Disease Society of America or grilling HD researchers, she makes every effort to accurately portray one potential disease experience at both the family and the individual level.

For Future Reading^

Oster, Emily, Ira Shoulson, and E. Dorsey. Optimal expectations and limited medical testing: evidence from Huntington disease. No. w17629. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.

KP 2015