One of the less glamorous benefits of returning to school is apparently getting access to every germ circulating among children. Our daughter, Rylae-Ann, was born with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, a rare genetic disorder that affects the brain’s ability to produce important neurotransmitters such as…
The Journey of Beautiful Destinations – a Column by Richard E. Poulin III
Nearly seven years ago, my wife, Judy, and I handed our daughter over to a surgical team in Taiwan for an experimental gene therapy. It was November 2019. Rylae-Ann was 18 months old and living with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase, or AADC, deficiency. We had spent months…
Editor’s note: This column includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Internationally, find a suicide prevention…
Our daughter, Rylae-Ann, looks wonderful in her new school uniform. I realize I may be slightly biased, but she wears it with the confidence of someone ready to take on the world, or at least Grade 2. Getting into that uniform, however, sometimes feels like completing an…
My wife, Judy, and I have learned that raising our daughter, Rylae-Ann, rarely involves following a straight path. Rylae-Ann was born with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, a rare neurotransmitter disorder that once prevented her from holding up her head, sitting independently, or speaking. After receiving…
In November 2019, my wife, Judy, carried our 18-month-old daughter into National Taiwan University Hospital for an experimental gene therapy. Rylae-Ann couldn’t hold up her head, sit independently, speak, or control her movements. She experienced dystonia and oculogyric crises in which her eyes rolled upward and became…
Our daughter’s journey has never been a straight path, and if there is one thing my wife, Judy, and I have learned, it is to always have a full tank of adaptability and perseverance. Rylae-Ann was born with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, a rare neurological…
Even before our daughter, Rylae-Ann, was diagnosed with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, my wife, Judy, began taking meticulous notes. We were not writing a book. We were just trying to understand what was happening to our family. AADC deficiency is an ultra-rare genetic disorder that…
Our daughter, Rylae-Ann, was born with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, a rare genetic disorder that affects the brain’s ability to produce dopamine and serotonin. Before receiving gene therapy in Taiwan in 2019, she couldn’t sit independently, crawl, walk, or speak. Today, she runs, attends school, argues with…
Before our daughter, Rylae-Ann, received gene therapy when she was just 18 months old, she needed her first haircut to make space for the surgery. Most parents might mark this milestone with a special trip to a children’s salon, a tiny envelope for the first curl, and several dozen photographs.
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