Five People from Same Family Succumb to Genetic Disease

76-year-old Frances Culling is facing the heart-breaking prospect of watching her fifth and last child die of the same disease that claimed her husband and four of her kids.

Huntington's Disease has claimed the lives of all five of her family members including husband Alan and four kids. "It is the worst thing in the world to go to your own children's funeral - particularly when you haven't got your husband there to help support you," Frances told The Sun.

She is nursing her 46-year-old daughter Julia, who is slowly facing in front of her eyes. Huntington's disease is a rare hereditary illness that destroys nerve cells in the brain.

The disease claimed Frances' husband Alan in 1975; daughter Lynn in 1996; son Tyrone in 1996; son Perry in 2001 and daughter Deborah in 2006.

"When I see my children's cousins and friends happily married with families of their own it makes me so sad. It was so difficult seeing them deteriorate physically and become like vegetables," Frances said. "Sometimes I would look and see the pain in their eyes."


Source: Medindia