• Home
• About
• Archives

With help from a UF veterinary student, a local author and alumna fulfills her lifelong dream

UF veterinary student Kaitlyn Lystad and Lenora McGowan are shown at UF’s Harn Museum of Art with a copy of McGowan’s book, “Butterfly Dreams.” (Photo by Sarah Carey)

When second-year veterinary student Kaitlyn Lystad signed up for the Putting Families First program at the University of Florida at the start of her freshman year, she expected to help someone with health-related issues. Instead, she found herself on an unexpected journey to publish a children’s book.

Putting Families First is a required course for first-year students across UF’s six health colleges, including the College of Veterinary Medicine. The program pairs small groups of students with community volunteers, aiming to teach person-centered care and interprofessional teamwork.

Lystad and her team were assigned to work with UF alumna Lenora McGowan, a visually impaired woman in Gainesville. Though the program typically focuses on health-related assistance, McGowan had a different goal in mind: publishing her children’s book, “Butterfly Dreams.”

“She was pretty upfront from the first meeting,” Lystad said. “This is exactly what she wanted.”

The book, inspired by McGowan’s experiences as someone who has been blind since birth, tells the story of a young blind girl who visits a butterfly garden. The story is written to inspire children with disabilities to explore and appreciate the natural world. 

For McGowan — who holds a degree in sociology from UF and retired in January after a 40-year career at the Independent Florida Alligator — publishing “Butterfly Dreams” fulfilled a deeply personal mission. The book’s main character, Cora, was named after McGowan’s grandmother, and the project carried special meaning because of her late son’s involvement. 

“Before my son passed, we talked about the book and he was going to make the figures so people could feel them and move them around,” McGowan recalled. “He kept telling me, ‘Mom, you’re going to be able to reach so many children.’ He told me one day, ‘Mom, I hope you can do something with the book. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here.’”

McGowan’s motivation was further strengthened by the words of her former UF English professor and late author James Haskins, who always encouraged his students to “do something before you leave this earth” and “make a mark on society.”

Lystad and her team, which included three students from other UF Health colleges, worked for two semesters to help McGowan achieve her goal. They scanned the original manuscript, formatted it for publication, and navigated the complexities of self-publishing.

When the course officially ended in April with the end of the academic year, the book wasn’t yet published. Lystad, however, felt compelled to see the project through.

“I just felt like I couldn’t leave her there without helping her finish what we actually started,” Lystad said.

Over the summer, Lystad continued to visit McGowan, working through technical challenges and even arranging for the book’s proceeds to be donated to the UF Foundation.

Amy Blue, Ph.D., associate vice president for interprofessional education at UF, oversees the Putting Families First program and praised Lystad’s dedication. 

“This is why I love the project that Kaitlyn did with her volunteer — the team realized that getting this book published was a real priority for the volunteer, and they wisely focused on that,” Blue said.

Blue emphasized that, while the Putting Families First program does not allow students to provide medical care, it encourages them to complete projects that are meaningful to the volunteers — even if the projects are not directly health-related.

“Our students learn how an individual’s social circumstances have such a tremendous impact on their health and well-being,” Blue said.

Amanda House, D.V.M. — the associate dean for academic and student affairs in the College of Veterinary Medicine — said the students’ commitment to the project illustrates the importance of relationship building, empathy, and communication skills, which are invaluable to veterinary students as they navigate their careers.  

For Lystad, the experience was transformative. 

“It was definitely very satisfying,” Lystad said. “I think the moment it really hit was when I was uploading the book to all of her social media accounts, when I could see all of the people who were supporting her and wanted to buy this book she’s been trying to get out there for so long.”

“Butterfly Dreams” is now available on Amazon, with proceeds benefiting the UF Foundation.

The Putting Families First program, which started in 1997 in the College of Medicine and expanded to include the College of Nursing and the College of Pharmacy, now includes students from all six UF Health colleges. It is required for first-year students in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and veterinary medicine, and for students enrolled in two separate programs within the College of Public Health and Health Professions.

The program was adapted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to include virtual visits, continuing its mission to connect students with the Gainesville community in meaningful ways.

Lystad, who hopes to pursue a career in clinical pathology after she finishes veterinary school, said the experience deepened her understanding of patient care.

“It was definitely about learning to work with what she wanted,” Lystad reflected. “What impacted her the most was getting the book out. It was emotionally fulfilling and healing in that way.”