Paul Ruppe’s adult life was on the typical midwestern trajectory as any young working man in his mid-twenties. It was Chicago, 1997. On this day, he was in charge of interviewing candidates for a job opening at his workplace.
So how did the job interview go? Anne Krzemienski was hired. She couldn’t help but immediately notice Paul’s effortless charm and warm personality. And the party began.
Seven years later Anne and Paul were married and continued living in Chicago, the city they’d loved for many years. Along came their beautiful daughter Abby in 2006. They took Abby everywhere and enjoyed their city lifestyle of going and doing. In 2008 the couple welcomed their son Benny.Like any young family, life was hectic. Paul and Anne both worked full time and balanced family life like champs, still enjoying the city they called home. They packed up their small children and continued going and doing as they always had. The city was indeed their playground until the fun stopped, and the party ended.
Paul and Anne began to notice that Benny had delayed developmental milestones in regards to sitting up, crawling, and walking. Benny was 18 months old when he experienced a febrile seizure. Although not typically life-threatening, something appeared more urgent with Ben’s episode and he was transferred to Children’s Hospital. There he was intubated and spent a few days in the Pediatric ICU. The struggles with Benny’s persistent crying, not speaking, and not sleeping began to plague the young family. A diagnosis came abruptly and without sensitivity from a doctor who told Paul and Anne that Benny was “mentally retarded”.
By the time Ben was three, he was aging out of an early intervention program where he received speech therapy as well as occupational and physical therapies. With Ben having special needs, and Abby growing into an active youngster, the city was no longer the playground once ideal for Paul and Anne. A move to the suburbs was their next step.
Paul and Anne settled in Brookdale subdivision on Naperville’s north side. Abby was flourishing at the local elementary school and Ben was able to take advantage of the well-known District 204 education system for special needs students. Beyond services the school district offered, the knowledge of additional county and state services was completely unknown to Paul and Anne. Ben still wasn’t sleeping through the night…never had and either Paul or Anne had to sleep with him….every night. A more detailed diagnosis was reached, Ben has autism and ADD.
Life goes on. Soccer games, movies, camps, friends, music, BBQs…..local things. Vacations were too difficult to achieve with their family’s unique struggles. Simple joys and fleeting moments of relaxation would be found close to home. They’d have to bring ‘vacation’ to their own backyard. So Paul built a yacht. Paul called it his yacht because a yacht to Paul meant vacation. So he built a sizable covered deck on the back of his family’s home, called it his yacht, and spent time with his family on the yacht. Friends and family came to the yacht, parties on the yacht, dinner on the yacht, birdwatching on the yacht…..but even a yacht that is actually a wooden deck can hit rough seas.
Paul and Anne had adapted their struggles into a life that was indeed taxing, hectic and oftentimes overwhelming. But they stayed positive and strived to support Benny’s needs while devoting time and effort to Abby’s endeavors and achievements. Life was a struggle, but life was good. Then Paul got cancer.
Paul Ruppe was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in 2017. He went through surgery and treatment. The cancer returned three years later in 2020. The battle was intense. The effort was valiant. Paul had everything to lose, and with his death, Anne lost her best friend, teammate, and husband. Abby and Ben lost their devoted father, their comfort, and their security.
Paul died on May 30, 2022….just after his 52nd birthday. Within weeks of his death, Abby turned 16 and started driving, Ben had his 14th birthday, and his beloved Anne added another year as well.
The yacht is drifting as this family finds their new normal. Where there were two people attempting to achieve the impossible, now there is only one, Anne. And she needs help. THEY need help. Abby has started her first job and is beginning to think about what college experience lies ahead. Anne will continue working and balancing the household as best she can. She is currently reaching out for funded services for Benny, and respite care so she and Abby can flourish in the 24 months they have left until Abby leaves for college.
We are developing “Anchored for Life” to fill the gap and help provide a true anchor for the Ruppe family. The charter for Anchored for Life is to provide stability in both short and long-term assistance to the Ruppe Family. Our priorities are to work on a professional baseline development assessment for Benny to accelerate his cognitive learning opportunities and develop a roadmap for success. These could be zipping his coat or tying his shoes, things the average person does not even consider but are extremely time-consuming and challenging for Benny. One goal is to be able to fund the required therapy to provide Anne the flexibility to continue to work at her job, keep her home and provide for her family. Such resources are highly specialized and very expensive. Another goal would be to also provide Benny an opportunity to learn new life skills and/or work in a special needs acceptable work environment. The long-term goal would include securing a place where Benny could live full time with the appropriate 24/7 therapy. All of these facilities require specific skills, behavior, sleeping through the night, etc. to be accepted. Additionally, they have long wait lists. Anchored for Life will be working to partner with some of the agencies and organizations that assist special needs. Anne agreed to the Anchor for Life on the condition that we would distribute some of the funds & volunteer time to organizations that help other kids just like Benny. We will be meeting and speaking to various organizations over the next 6-12 months to make sure “Anchored for Life” is aligned with the proper organization.
