The Huntington's Murderer

   

    For my third Neuro note, I chose to listen to a podcast called This American Life Podcast: Dr. Gilmore & Dr. Hyde, which talks about this man named Dr. Vince Gilmer kills his father for no particular reason. Later on in the podcast it is revealed that Dr. Gilmer has Huntington's Disease (HD), and was experiencing symptoms at the time of the murder. I was drawn to this podcast because I love watching tv shows such as 48 Hour Mystery or Dateline. When I was reading the descriptions of the resources my jaw hit the floor when I found this podcast. I was wanting to know about how HD affected Dr. Gilmer as this story revealed itself. I also wanted to learn more about Huntington's Disease because I have never been exposed to this disease before and wanted a peek. 

    This story starts off as Dr. Vince Gilmer being a well known doctor in his small town. He was described by patients as a very kind, genuine, and caring doctor. It is very eerie, but the next doctor who took Vince's place was Dr. Benjamin Gilmer (not related). Benjamin said that he felt connected to Vince and wanted to get to the bottom of the reason this murder occurred. When Vince went on trial people were saying that he was faking his behaviors and he even decided to dismiss his representatives at the trial and represent himself! Vince knew that something was not right because the same behaviors he was experiencing was happening in prison. Benjamin went to the prison and spoke to Vince himself. After talking to Vince, Benjamin and other medical professionals ordered a blood test and it came back positive for Huntington's Disease. This results proves that he was not faking his behaviors and that Vince was unable to defend himself at trial. I hope this snippet of the story will make you want to listen to this podcast because I rate it a 10/10 ! 

    I think this relates to our recent class lecture we had talking about Huntington's Disease. We talked about how this disease is passed genetically, meaning that there is a 50/50 chance that Vince could get this disease. Another topic we talked about were the numerous symptoms individuals could have. The symptoms of this disease affect motor, cognitive, and behavioral skills. Some of Vince's symptoms include: behavioral disturbances, hallucinations, irritability, abnormal and unusual movements, loss of judgement, disorientation, and unsteady gait. We also talked about the different stages of this disease, and we can apply it to this podcast because we see that Vince is slowly digressing overtime. I think this resource is beneficial to someone who wants to know more about Huntington's because it allows you to see how it affects someone's life in all aspects. It also shows how long it could take for a diagnosis on the medical side. I think it shows the value of taking a holistic approach with our clients and ensuring them that they are heard. No one listened to Vince and I think things could be different if they would have listened to him sooner. 

Resource 

Glass, I (Host). (2013, April 12). Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde [Audio podcast episode]. In This American Life. WBEZ. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/492/dr-gilmer-and-mr-hyde