Estero Man publishes book about his childhood with polio

"Whatever it takes." For Rich Willett, that adage is a rule.

Polio took hold of Willett as a young child, destroying nerves in his legs. He’s never walked without crutches or support.

“When I was younger, I had straight leg braces that didn’t bend,” he said. “They stuck straight out into the aisle on the bus.”

Some who don't know him look upon him, now a nearly 70-year-old man, with his crutches and believe he needs their help, he said.

People offer to carry groceries, open doors or keep off the stairs, he said. Willett turns them down.

“I grew up on crutches,” he said. “I know how to live with these. But when I see myself in a full-length mirror, I understand how people act — ‘Let me get the door for you’ and all that. I see myself as like you, but I just happen to have a pair of crutches under my arm.”

A "You can't do that" serves as motivation for him, said Rich Willett's wife, Cheryl.

“It’ll be his personal challenge," she said.

That's how it's been all Rich Willett's life: Whatever it takes.

He recently published a book about his childhood spent overcoming the challenges of polio. The book is titled, “Perseverance: Journey of a Child Warrior.”

His parents never coddled him or treated him different, he said. They encouraged him to “be normal and feel normal."

“I walked to school every day,” he said. “My parents were there to help me if I needed, but they didn’t treat me differently. They knew I could do it.”

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 35 has had a much more profound effect on Rich’s life, he said.

Because of the empowering influence of his parents, he has placed the effects of polio in the back seat at mostly forgotten about them, Rich Willett said.

Other than not being able to dance — his main gripe — life with polio is average, he said.

But some of his peers with disabilities did not receive the same upbringing, he said.

“When I was about 11-12 years old, I went to a camp,” he said. “I wanted to go to camp because my friends were going. My parents sent me. At end of week, they said we were going to another camp.

“We get to the camp, and I see a child in a wheelchair, then a boy in crutches and others with physical problems,” Rich Willett continued. “Then it dawned on me — this is a camp for handicapped children. I’d never been around handicapped children. When I was there, one of the kids came up to me and asked what I was doing with ‘them.’ He was so confused, ‘Why aren’t you with us?’ That was a profound moment for me.”

He started writing “Perseverance: Journey of a Child Warrior” nearly 10 years ago.

“It started in 1998,” he said. “I just kept writing for no specific reason. I was working from home at the time in the computer industry, so I get some free time. In between phone calls or meetings over the internet, I would take a shot at writing a chapter, and that went on for years.

“Sometimes I’d go for a year without writing anything,” he continued. “Sometimes I’d wake up at 3 a.m. to write.”

Years ago, Rich Willett wrote technical teaching documents for various companies — very different from his nonfiction writing style. And he had no real audience when he started.

“I thought he was writing for our kids and grandkids,” Cheryl Willett said. “It was, for me, another hobby he enjoyed doing it. I’m a workaholic, so it gave him something to do.

“Then this (publishing) started happening, and I didn’t read any of the book until it was almost published because I didn’t know how I’d feel reading it,” she continued. “It was extremely emotional. There’s not much I didn’t know, but seeing it in print is something else.”

The book is only part one of a trilogy, he said.

When he gave Raven Dodd the book draft to edit, he got some honest feedback. She told him it was too long for one book.

“Part two is coming out this summer,” he said.

While the story is about his childhood, it can translate to every reader, he said.

“Regardless of what your challenges are, you’re going to learn from it and grow,” he said. “No matter what happens, you’ll wake up tomorrow and continue one. You can get through these and survive no matter the challenges.”

Find “Perseverance: Journey of a Child Warrior” by Richard Willett on Amazon.com.