Becky Aspinall, 28, was diagnosed with what has been called the ‘cruellest disease known to man’, Huntington’s Disease, at just 20-years-old (Picture: Mirrorpix)

A young girl’s life has been taken over by what has been dubbed ‘the cruellest disease known to man’ – Huntington’s Disease.

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Becky Aspinall, 28, used to be the ‘life and soul of the party’ but was diagnosed with the disease which causes rapid physical and mental deterioration, at just 20 years old.

Huntington’s, which is a genetic condition, usually starts displaying symptoms when the carrier is in their 40s or 50s.

But sadly Becky inherited the condition from her father who was diagnosed when she was only four-years-old and later died in care.


Now, she has lost the ability to walk, talk and live on her own and needs 24-hour care.



Her mother, Lisa Kelly, told The Mirror: ‘This disease takes everything away slowly – firstly your behaviour is affected then physical things start to go.

What is Huntington's Disease? Huntington’s disease is an inherited condition that damages certain nerve cells in the brain.

It can affect movement, cognition and behaviour

It is caused by an inherited faulty gene

Symptoms include personality changes, mood swings and irritability

There is no cure for the condition Source: www.nhs.uk

‘I once heard someone say if the devil had made a disease, Huntington’s would be it. And that’s how I would describe it.’

She added that her daughter, who used to enjoy holidaying in Magaluf and Amsterdam, no longer looks like herself, having been left thin and with broken teeth because she can no longer clean them.

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To make things even more difficult, Becky’s condition began to show after she fell pregnant with her son and doctors asked about genetic conditions in the family.

Soon after, Becky began suffering the early symptoms, including a twitching leg and slurred speech.

At 20 weeks pregnant, she was then given the agonising decision of whether to terminate her pregnancy or not.

She refused after having already chosen her son’s name.

Now Lisa cares for her grandson Alfie as well as still looking after her Becky, who says she doesn’t want to be fed by a tube once she loses the ability to swallow.

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