The Journey of Beautiful Destinations — Richard E. Poulin III

Even before our daughter, Rylae-Ann, had gene therapy, we knew that she would require immediate and intensive intervention due to her rare disease. There was little guidance on what to do, but my wife, Judy, and I realized…

The road to potty training our daughter was one of the most difficult journeys my wife, Judy, and I set out on. More significant challenges took precedence before this, but potty training was an inevitable milestone we knew we…

Rebirth is a common theme that appears in such classic stories as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Christmas Carol,” and “The Lion King.” The idea holds a special place in the psyche of humans and, especially, in…

When my wife, Judy, and I discovered that our daughter, Rylae-Ann, has a rare, neurotransmitter disease known as aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, we automatically became part of a very small group of parents from…

My wife, Judy, and I recently attended our third awareness day event for aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. This year’s annual event, on Oct. 23, was a live video event on Facebook…

When our daughter, Rylae-Ann, was 3 months old, we began to see signs that something wasn’t right. When that happened, my wife, Judy, and I disappeared from social media. We retreated from our circle of friends into the…

The occasional foot or backhand to the face has been worth the benefits of co-sleeping as a family. My wife, Judy, and I were forced to sleep with our daughter, Rylae-Ann, because of the debilitating symptoms of…

My wife, Judy, and I have given several workshops for parents based on our experience caring for our daughter, Rylae-Ann, who has a rare disease called aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. During the question-and-answer session at the…

Before our daughter, Rylae-Ann, was born, I read books and logged many internet hours learning about parenting. I wanted to be prepared. However, issues like common viral infections were deleted from my mind once I knew she had a…

After the dough came out hot from the oven, I added drops of dye into three balls of it. I worked the different colors into the dough to create a favorite and timeless childhood toy that’s been proven valuable…

A notification pops up on my phone. It’s from Facebook, sharing a memory from five years ago. The clip shows me holding my daughter, Rylae-Ann, who’s playing with a ball. However, I acted as a puppeteer because she couldn’t…

In June, I celebrated my 40th birthday. The day went as planned. Family showered me with attention, friends rubbed in the major milestone, and Facebook well wishes came pouring in. Entering the second half of life, I realized that,…