I'm wondering how the LW managed to get to college, medical school, and graduate school. Did he finance his way entirely? Or was there family support that allowed him to break away? It doesn't sound like he's crushed by debt. Did his family support his dream of going to medical school?

I agree with the many people who think it can be unhealthy and even dangerous for the LW to move near his family, but partly because of his attitude of entitlement. Based on his letter, he doesn't seem to have been drawn to medicine to help anyone, but simply because it seemed the path to personal wealth and a worry-free life. His sense of entitlement--that he somehow deserves everything he has--will rankle horribly if his sister does turn out to have Huntington's, because she does NOT deserve to have that, any more than he deserves not to have it. His genetic luck that provided his academic success and good health, along with his focused hard work, are what brought his potential financial success. But all that could be down the toilet in a heartbeat--a car accident, an unexpected medical condition, or all manner of things could happen that would destroy his financial security. None of which he deserves, but the truth is that none of us get what we deserve, for better and for worse. His sister is perhaps weak and foolish to have not had herself tested, and irresponsible to not have had herself tested before bearing children. But after watching her father die horribly, it's understandable why she might fear looking directly at the issue. Is the LW afraid of facing this horror again, fearful of watching someone he loves suffer and die? Families are what help us all through these things. Or not. Families are also sometimes what we need to run away from so we can pretend that life is fair and that if we work hard enough, everything can be perfect. And sometimes families are genuinely toxic. If his mother and sister are toxic to him, though, it sounds as if that's not due to any meanspiritedness or cruelty on their parts but merely because the dice haven't come up as well for them as they have for the LW.

Depression is horrible for the person suffering from it. It is also horrible for those living with the depressed person. Yes, as someone noted earlier, a depressed person needs to know s/he is loved and cared for. But so does everyone else, and depressed people are often completely incapable of showing their love and appreciation for their families. So it's understandable why the LW wants to avoid spending time with depressed people. But he's had a lot of privileges, and better at least understand that his mother is a woman in poor health who lost her husband tragically and now is facing what appears in her depression to be a meaningless, painful existence, and his sister is a woman who feels forced into the role of caretaker while herself facing a horrible throw of the dice. So he better be infusing a lot of positiveness into the few encounters he's willing to have with them. If he has not just good health and an excellent career, but also the insights that we hope come with a medical education, he better use them with his family --his biological family as well as his wife and child.

His decision to live in Denver or not is important, but not so critical to his own salvation as his decision whether or not to be a truly compassionate person with his mother and sister. When he's seen patients abandoned by their own fortunate sons and daughters and siblings, if his mind and heart are open, he may in retrospect know what he should be doing here. But in my experience, doctors often wear huge blinders. They gave so much to be doctors, and don't want to continue giving throughout every single day of their lives, so they justify callousness as "professionalism." But medicine is supposed to be a draining vocation with huge heartbreaking sacrifices as well as huge rewards for the heart and soul. It's not just another job with tremendous earning power.

Yes, families are supposed to be mutually supportive, not sucking anyone dry. But it would be ironic indeed if this fortunate son got his benefits as a result of sucking his family members dry to get the education and security he so values.

>It would be the greatest gift I could EVER ask for!

Me, too. I mean, democracy and elections are such silly, outdated concepts. "Liberty and justice for all"--who wrote that? "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people"--such an old-fashioned idea! "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." I mean, get real--the CONSENT of the governed?