Published: 22:19 BST, 2 September 2026 | Updated: 22:22 BST, 2 September 2026
Anyone who knew Damien Lujan would have said he was careful with money.
The 36-year-old California father always kept a close eye on the family finances, making sure his four children had everything they needed before indulging in anything unnecessary.
So when he went shopping for his children's winter clothes in 2024 and suddenly blew $900 on outfits for himself, his wife Yolanda knew something wasn't right.
The hugely popular puzzle game is free to download, but encourages players to make in-app purchases that help them progress – and there have been numerous reports over the years of players spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on it.
And Damien, who had previously shown little interest in such things, suddenly became glued to his phone – and, shockingly, racked up more than $1,000 in spending on Candy Crush in a single month.
But more disturbing was the change in his personality.
The usually calm and level-headed father began flying into rages over the smallest things, at one point berating his children because he couldn't find the television remote.
Damien Lujan (pictured with his wife Yolanda) never spent money on himself. But sudden impulse spending on clothes and Candy Crush was one of the first signs of a deadly brain condition
'I had to start taking the kids everywhere with me so they weren't home alone with him,' Yolanda said. 'His behavior was so out of character.'
At first, there was no obvious reason for the transformation, but then Yolanda noticed a slight tremor in Damien's hand. He had also begun dragging his right foot when he walked.
She persuaded him to see a neurologist and, after a battery of brain scans and genetic tests in 2025, he received a devastating explanation for everything that had happened.
Damien had Huntington's Disease-Like 2, or HDL2 – a rare inherited brain disorder that progressively destroys nerve cells in the brain.
It is closely linked to Huntington's disease itself, a devastating genetic condition that gradually robs patients of their ability to control their movements, think clearly and, eventually, carry out everyday tasks independently.
The damage is particularly severe in areas of the brain involved in movement, memory, mood and decision-making.
