Welcome to our website! We are the Smrtnik/Fiore Family. We are a family from Highwood, Illinois who are battling Huntington’s Disease. Mark Smrtnik is twenty-seven years old. He was diagnosed with HD at the age of twenty-one. His sister, Trisha Smrtnik is thirty years old. After finding out about her brother’s diagnosis, she had to discover what her fate would be. She had genetic testing done in 2002 and found that she does have the defective HD gene, which means that she too, will eventually get the disease. Their father, David Smrtnik, died at the age of 45 after battling HD for 15 years. Their two uncles also succumbed to it within the last 6 years.

In the wake of adversity, our family has found the strength to defy the odds. We will not sit back and watch our lives be destroyed. That is the reason for this website and that is the reason for our fundraising efforts. Through the leadership of our mother and stepfather, as well as the support of our family and friends, we have been able to raise nearly $1,000,000.00 in the last 5 years. That money goes to fund research to help find a cure or treatment for HD.

We would also like to thank the Huntington’s Disease Society of America, under the leadership and direction of Barbara Boyle and her wonderful staff. They have been very helpful to us and our goal of finding a cure for HD. We also want to personally thank all of the researchers, scientists and doctors whose valuable contributions have brought us closer to the goal of everyone involved with Hope for Huntington’s - a cure!! We would not be where we are without you!

Thank you so much for visiting our webpage. We hope you leave knowing that even though we may have Huntington’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease will never have us!

A special thank you to Alice Manfredini, our friend, for designing our website. Thank you, Alice.

The Smrtnik/Fiore Family