The purpose of this photo project is to bring awareness to Huntington Disease (HD) through photographing various families affected by the disease. I would like to show that even though a family may go through difficult times, they are still supportive, loving, and willing to rally around their loved ones no matter what. Thus, I want these photos to highlight strength, courage, and positivity in each of the families showcased.

For this endeavor, I have travelled throughout Canada to capture bits of daily life of those dealing with HD. To date, I’ve photographed several families in the Toronto area, and a collection of families in Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island. The photos will show different people, each at various stages of their disease, with their families. Showcasing the family along side the person who has been diagnosed is important as the disease affects everyone that is involved.

My own personal story with HD goes back to when I was quite young. My father suffered from Huntington Disease and eventually passed away from it in 2004. It was always hard for me to watch him struggle; he grew progressively worse until he could no longer walk, talk, or feed himself.  After he passed away I was tested for the disease and was shocked to find that I also have HD. After finding out, my world stopped for awhile, but eventually my friends and family helped me through it, and I was trying to think of how I could turn my results into something positive.

Shortly after my diagnosis, I started volunteering with the Toronto Chapter of the Huntington Society, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t doing enough for HD, and that I wasn’t actually helping anyone on a larger scale. I tried to think of what I could do, and how my work could help the cause. It was with all of this in mind that I decided I could use my photography talents to document families who are also affected by this debilitating disease. I hoped that by documenting an entire family, I could illustrate how this disease affects not only the patient, but the family as a whole. I have found this whole experience to be an incredibly healing one. Seeing the strength people have at different stages of HD has really empowered me. My attitude has shifted for the better; I constantly find myself thinking, “If these people can get through this with a smile on their face, then so can I.” It is truly inspiring.

 
 
My gallery exhibit was very successful from November 11-22! The opening night reception was held on Thursday November 12 from 630-930pm at the Gladstone Hotel, which was followed by several guided tours of the exhibition space at Gallery 50. We had 150 people and raised $5,000 and counting!  I will update you with any more information when I show the same exhibit again— as I plan to!  If you would like to purchase my book I published, please click on the following link and a book will be mailed out to you. The cost is $60, and a portion of the profits of the book sales will be donated to the Huntington Society of Canada.
 
My story about my photo exhibit for HD was published on CityTV NEWS! I was also recently contacted by a news company around November 2017  in Brazil called Piaui Magazine. They wanted to do a information article about HD and asked to use on of my photos! So the awareness continues to build in different countries now which is very exciting!

If your family is affected by HD, please contact me, or call me at 778.822.8204, or email at meghan@meghanandrewsphoto.com, if you would like to be photographed for this project.

I recently started photographing updates of the families. So far I’ve shot in Alberta, Ontario and BC. I have posted them below as I think it’s incredibly important to show how the disease progresses over time. I hope to eventually photograph updates for the rest of my families across Canada. So far there have been 4 deaths and there will be a lot more trials families are faced with than triumphs.

 

Please click on the collage to see a bigger image.

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

Ontario

Prince Edward Island