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I came to Florida on vacation in August of 1991. I'm still trying to find my return ticket.
I was born in Minnesota and grew up in the beautiful suburb of Arden Hills. As a child, I fell in love with nature, camping,
rappelling and canoeing. While many of my friends talked about moving to sunny states such as California, Hawaii, and Florida
I knew I would never leave my home state, except for a brief vacation now and then. Perhaps I should look up the word "brief"
in a dictionary because it appears I've gotten the definition confused with "extended".
I met my husband, Ryan on April 28, 1993. Ryan was raised in Cape Coral. I had been making plans to finally move "home"
again when love intervened. We were married 7 months later. We have 4 great kids and for years I loved my job as stay-at-home-mom
or, "Domestic Diva" as I called myself. Unfortunately, my husband became ill with a rare, terminal disease in late
2004. It would take until January of 2007 to get a diagnosis and by then it was too late; Ryan had lost his job with the
Lee Co. Sheriff's Department and we'd lost everything we had. Ryan could no longer care for himself, understand language
or speak. Due to the nature of this rare disease, known as frontaltemporal dementia, (FTD), it is doubtful Ryan even understands
that he is dying.
It took me awhile to recover from that blow, from the loss of every vision of the future that I had, and to decide what
my next move would be. I wondered where I might take my new knowledge and use it to benefit others. I understand what it
means to plan for one outcome and receive the exact opposite. I understand what it means to endure the long, debilitating
illness of someone you love. I know what it feels like to have people look at the person you hold dearest and see only a
disease or a disability and not the amazing person they truly are. I know just how valuable each and every day is. Reflecting
on my years of volunteering in the profoundly disabled classroom at Gulf Elementary, I knew I had found the answer to my question.
A new passion was born within me: to teach the profound, to treasure them for the people they truly are and not the label
they bear, to provide their parents with the assurance that their children are being well cared for and not just warehoused,
to help each child reach their potential and to watch them bloom. I understand that "different than I planned"
does not always have to equal tragedy. Sometimes different just equals different.
And so it is that I embark on a new leg of my journey. I didn't plan for it, but here I am. As I stand at this fork
in the road, leaving one life behind and reaching into the future for the next, I am reminded of the philosophy by which both
Ryan and I have lived our lives: the Journey is the Destination. I am excited about this next phase of my life and look forward
to what the future has to offer. In the meantime, I am enjoying this portion of my journey. I love going to school and learning.
I love watching my children become the 4 most amazing people I have ever met. And I enjoy holding my best friend's hand,
which he still lets me do even when he's not quite sure who I am. The journey is amazing.
In my free time, when I am not raising 4 kids, attending classes, doing homework or overseeing Ryan's care, I enjoy writing.
I'm an annual National Novel Writing Month Participant and plan to pick up this November where I left off last November.
My children and I enjoy movies, music, laughing and spending time together. To learn more about our family, or FTD, visit
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ryanwillin
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