Household travels world wide to provide children visible recollections earlier than uncommon dysfunction causes imaginative and prescient loss

A household of six spent the final 12 months touring the world collectively to absorb as many sights as doable earlier than retinitis pigmentosa, a uncommon genetic dysfunction, causes complete imaginative and prescient loss for 3 of the 4 kids.

The Lemay-Pelletier household — 12-year-old Mia, 10-year-old Leo, 7-year-old Colin and 5-year-old Laurent, together with mother Edith Lemay and pa Sebastien Pelletier — sat down with “GMA3” to speak about what led as much as the unimaginable journey.

After studying the information 4 years in the past that three of her 4 children had been identified with the dysfunction, it took a while to return to phrases with what it could imply for his or her household, Lemay stated.

“At first it’s denial, you assume, you already know, ‘It’s not possible. No one in my household has that. And you then get indignant. You already know, ‘Why me? Why does this occur to me? It’s not truthful.’ After which comes disappointment, you are feeling sorry for your self, for your loved ones. Actually it is solely whenever you get to acceptance, whenever you settle for that your kids’s path goes to be totally different. That’s whenever you begin desirous about the longer term and make actual plans,” Lemay stated.

When the children had been identified 4 years in the past, specialists advisable the mother and father begin exposing their kids to visible recollections by displaying them photographs and books of the world surrounding them. However the mother and father determined to take it even additional — permitting their children to make these visible recollections based mostly on real-life experiences world wide.

“For us, it was simply an apparent factor. Let’s take them world wide and go all in,” Pelletier stated.

The eldest, 12-year-old Mia, stated her favourite reminiscence to this point was using in a sizzling air balloon in Turkey.

“It was simply magical and wonderful,” she informed “GMA3.”

Leo, 10, is the one one of many siblings with out the prognosis.

“I really feel fortunate that I don’t have [it], however unhappy that my brothers and sister will lose their imaginative and prescient,” Leo stated.

“GMA3” stunned the household with tickets to see a Broadway present collectively whereas they’re in New York, which Leo was significantly enthusiastic about.

There’s at present no recognized remedy or therapy to decelerate the illness. To date, the mother and father stated they have not seen any modifications to their children’ imaginative and prescient, moreover not being able to see at nighttime since they had been born, Pelletier stated. Complete lack of imaginative and prescient is anticipated to happen in midlife.

In the meantime, the mother and father have made it their mission to show their kids resilience, being grateful and how you can adapt to new conditions, Lemay stated. She needs them to “deal with the constructive of their life.”

Lemay and Pelletier stated they felt much less alone when a Quebec-based group linked them to different households coping with the situation.

Retinitis pigmentosa impacts about 1 in 3,000 to 1 in 4,000 folks worldwide, based on the Nationwide Group for Uncommon Problems. The Basis Combating Blindness stated it has funded the launch of greater than 40 scientific trials to search for potential remedies for the dysfunction. The group helps analysis efforts by connecting sufferers to related scientific trials, together with providing free genetic testing.

“Our method to cope was to get into motion. Like the toughest half for us is to not do something. And that was the toughest half with RP, is that there’s nothing you are able to do,” Pelletier stated.

ABC Information’ Jessica Horning and Stefanie Javorsky Parasram contributed to this report.