Gina had an extraordinary life filled with adventure, amazing gifts, and wonderful people.

Between March and July 2020, her physical health deteriorated steadily. She had a variety of symptoms including nausea, headaches, focused and variable body aches, sound intolerance, large heart rate fluctuations, and an inability to concentrate; all of which are symptoms of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (or M.E.). The onset was rapid and triggered by an acute illness that may or may not have been COVID-19.

Several times she appeared to be getting better, but her symptoms would relapse after the smallest physical exertion, such as taking a short walk, picking berries in her backyard, or preparing food. She learned to wear a heart monitor to avoid aggravating the symptoms, but they still persisted and it required her to be very sedentary. The mental anguish of being unable to move her body in the ways she was accustomed to, including an inability to physically play with Travis, was very hard for her. In her last few weeks, she could barely leave the house, shower, or interact with anyone.

M.E. is often not given the attention it needs from medical professionals because it is multi-systemic, has no signature diagnostic test, and has no cure. Remission in those that are diagnosed with it is rare. If there is anything relieving about what happened to Gina, it is that she is no longer suffering.

Gina spent a lot of time researching M.E. and truly believed more attention to this disease was needed. She supported the Open Medicine Foundation for its dedicated research into this complex and life-altering illness.

During the weeks preceding Gina’s death, she compiled a timeline of her life as a therapeutic project. She wrote it out by hand on six pages of paper taped together. We did our best to find corresponding photos and design it into the work of art that it is. 

See the PDF version here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QatmqGAsdPfNpL-WFwlJmukkTX8nTPBn/view?usp=sharing

The print display version of this is 8’ tall and 3’ wide. 

Regina Marie Ord (Gina) was born September 6, 1979 in Denver, Colorado and died on July 27, 2020 in Yakima, Washington. The oldest of five children, she attended Most Precious Blood Elementary School and J.K. Mullen High School. In those early years she cared for her two youngest brothers with disabilities, babysat, rode bikes around the neighborhood, and swam on the high school swim team. She became a lifeguard and worked at various pools and camps during her summers in high school and college.

Gina attended Gonzaga University where she majored in Exercise Science, minored in Spanish, and graduated with honors. She developed a love of running and ran a marathon to raise money for Easter Seals.  She studied abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Granada, Spain.  Gina’s experience with and compassion for those with disabilities led her to a degree in occupational therapy at Colorado State University.  In her early adult years she developed a strong love of the outdoors and spent much time skiing, backpacking, biking, and climbing the Colorado fourteeners.  She completed an Occupational Therapy internship in San Juan, Puerto Rico and then moved to Yakima, WA for her first job in 2005.  She began to travel internationally, including adventures such as climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and cycling around Lake Titicaca. 

In November 2005, Gina met the love of her life, Scott Kline, and they were married on May 24, 2009.  She spent her career focusing on occupational therapy, health, and wellness.  From 2011-2013 Gina and Scott served in the Peace Corps together in rural Zambia where Gina was a rural health education volunteer. Upon returning to Yakima she served with the Washington State University Extension Office as the Yakima County Extension Director where she ran health and nutrition programs in the county from 2014 - 2019.

Gina became a mother to Travis Canyon Kline in 2015 and deeply enjoyed family trips and being a mother.  She took a break from work to volunteer at Central Lutheran co-op preschool and enjoyed organizing various kids’ activities.  She also began the doctoral program in Occupational Therapy through the University of Utah.  She was a yoga teacher and volunteered with the Yoga Collective of Yakima.  Gina was a loving, compassionate, and joyful wife, mother, friend, daughter, and sister and lived life to the fullest with vigor and energy. She loved her family, dancing, and the natural world. She was dedicated to cultivating relationships and serving others.  Her husband Scott once described her to a stranger “You can’t miss her.  She will have a smile on her face and a spring in her step!”

In March of 2020, Gina contracted a virus from which she never recovered.  Her physical health rapidly deteriorated leaving her homebound and with difficulty performing simple tasks such as cooking or bathing without bringing on flu-like and neurological symptoms.  She had been pursuing a diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis, a cruel and debilitating disease thought to be brought on by various viruses, and is exacerbated by physical or mental exertion.

Gina is survived by her husband Scott Kline; son Travis; grandmother Genevieve White; father and mother John and Ramona Ord; and siblings Diana Hermann, Cynthia, Thomas, and Phil Ord; as well as extended family and friends.  Donations may be made to the Open Medicine Foundation in support of research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. There is currently no cure for M.E.