The Journey of Beautiful Destinations — Richard E. Poulin III

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

My wife, Judy, and I sat on our sofa in a cool, dark room despite it being the middle of the afternoon. We tried to keep our daughter asleep in an effort to avoid…

Our daughter, Rylae-Ann, blinked her eyes a few times before scanning the white room. A warm smile instantly appeared when her hazel eyes fell on my wife, Judy. That’s how she began the…

Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency is a rare genetic disease with only about 135 cases seen worldwide since it was identified in 1990. So where do we go…

Meeting another father whose daughter has a rare disease always prompts a free-flowing and earnest discussion. When it happens, I don’t refrain from opening up. I had an eye-opening experience during a recent meeting…

My full and undivided attention was dedicated to navigating the stroller over cobblestone sidewalks. When I reached the end, I executed a 180-degree motion so that the back wheels descended the high curb first…