Make-A-Wish grants third wish for family living with Huntingdon’s Disease.

As news arrives that Huntington's Disease is probably much more common in the UK than previously thought, Make-A-Wish grants Stephen’s train wish...

New figures suggest that the incurable brain illness Huntington's Disease (HD) is at least twice as common as previously thought, medical experts have said.

Writing in medical journal ‘The Lancet’, Sir Michael Rawlins, chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, suggests that official figures for those who show symptoms of HD are wrong by a factor of at least two. He argued that the stigma associated with the disease has led to a serious under-estimation of its prevalence.

HD is a hereditary disorder which affects muscle co-ordination and cognitive functions. It usually, but by no means always, manifests itself in middle age and in time leaves its sufferers needing full-time nursing care before they die.

Every child of someone with HD has a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the disease. About 6,000 people are believed to have the disease in the UK.

Make-A-Wish recently granted Stephen’s wish to be a train driver. Stephen, from Colchester, lives with HD, as do his younger sister Anna and older brother James – both of whom have also had wishes granted by Make-A-Wish.

Stephen travelled aboard a Virgin Trains service from Colchester to Crewe, where he enjoyed the lavish glitz and glamour of first-class rail travel. He was then whisked away in style by limousine to Virgin Trains’ Training Academy where, watched by his family, he was given the rare privilege of using their train driving simulator.

Stephen’s Mum, Susan, told us: “People do not realise how many children are living with HD. It seems that more and more children are getting it and people do not realise that it exists.

“We have been through so much with all our children living with HD, and to have three such special wishes for all of them has been amazing. Yesterday Stephen could relax and enjoy his day as a train driver - and that’s all thanks to Make-A-Wish”.