Canadian family taking world tour before children lose their vision ...

Their daughter Mia was just three years old when Canadian couple Edith Lemay and Sebastien Pelletier first noticed that she was having vision problems. A few years after they first took her to see a specialist, Mia, the eldest of their four children, was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic condition that causes a loss or decline in vision over time. By this point, Lemay and Pelletier, who've been married for 12 years, had noticed that two of their sons, Colin, now seven, and Laurent, now five, were experiencing the same symptoms. Their fears were confirmed when in 2019 the boys were diagnosed with the same genetic disorder; their other son Leo, now nine, was given the all clear.

"There's nothing you can really do," says Lemay, explaining that there is currently no cure or effective treatment to slow down the progression of retinitis pigmentosa. "We don't know how fast it's going to go, but we expect them completely blind by mid-life."

Edith Lemay with husband Sébastian Pelletier and their children Mia, Leo, Colin and Laurent in Ölüdeniz, Turkey.

Once they came to terms with the news, the couple focused their attentions on helping their children build the skills they'd need to navigate their way through life. When Mia's specialist suggested that they engross her with "visual memories," Lemay realized that there was one truly incredible way that they could do just that for her and the rest of the children. "I thought, 'I'm not going to show her an elephant in a book, I'm going to take her to see a real elephant," she explains. "And I'm going to fill her visual memory with the best, most beautiful images I can." She and her husband soon began making plans to spend a year traveling around the globe with their kids.

"With the diagnosis, we have an urgency," adds Pelletier, who works in finance. "There's great things to do at home, but there's nothing better than traveling. "Not only the scenery, but also the different cultures and people."They soon began trying to build up their savings, and their travel pot received a welcome boost when the company that Pelletier worked for and had shares in was bought. "That was like a little gift from life," admits Lemay, who works in healthcare logistics. "Like, here's the money for your trip." The family of six were originally due to set off in July 2020, and had planned an in-depth itinerary that involved traveling through Russia by land, and spending time in China.

Lemay-Pelletier family explore Quivertree Forest in Namibia, where they began their world trip.

However, they were forced to delay their trip by a number of years due to the travel restrictions brought about by the global pandemic, and revised their itinerary countless times. When they eventually left Montreal in March 2022, they had few plans in place. "We actually left without an itinerary," says Lemay. "We had ideas of where we wanted to go, but we plan as we go. Maybe a month ahead." Before they set off, the Lemay-Pelletier family created something of a bucket list of experiences for their travel. According to Lemay, Mia wanted to go horseback riding, while Laurent wanted to drink juice on a camel. "It was really specific and very funny at the time," she adds.

They began their trip in Namibia, where they got up close to elephants, zebras and giraffes, before heading to Zambia and on to Tanzania, and then flying to Turkey, where they spent a month. The family then made their way to Mongolia, before moving on to Indonesia. "We're focusing on sights," explains Pelletier. "We're also focusing a lot on fauna and flora. We've seen incredible animals in Africa, but also in Turkey and elsewhere. "So we're really trying to make them see things that they wouldn't have seen at home and have the most incredible experiences." Aside from witnessing beautiful sights while their vision is still relatively strong, the couple hope that the trip will help the children develop strong coping skills.

According to the National Eye Institute, part of the US National Institutes of Health, an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, retinitis pigmentosa symptoms usually begin in childhood, and most people eventually lose most of their sight.

"They're going to need to be really resilient throughout their life," adds Lemay, pointing out that Mia, Colin and Laurent will have to constantly readjust as their eyesight worsens.

The couple's son Leo during the family's visit to Cappadocia, Turkey.

Lemay and Pelletier hope that getting to spend time in different countries and experience different cultures will show all of the children how fortunate they are, despite the challenges that may come later in their lives as their sight deteriorates.

"They're super-curious," she says. "They easily adapt to new countries and new food. I'm very impressed with them." While visual experiences remain a priority, Lemay says the trip has become more about showing the children "something different" and providing them with unforgettable experiences.

"There are beautiful places everywhere in the world, so it doesn't really matter where we go," she explains. The family have been chronicling their trip via social media, posting regular updates on their Facebook and Instagram accounts. their Instagram account shows wonderful photos of the many things they have seen.

Lemay and Pelletier admit that the diagnosis is always in the back of their minds, but they are focused on living in the moment and "putting their energy into the positive things." While the family plans to return home to Quebec next March, they say they're trying not to think that far ahead. In fact, the ability to live in the moment is one of the key things the family have learned over the past few months. Although traveling as a family has been testing -- the couple have also been homeschooling their children on the road -- Lemay and Pelletier say one of the highlights has been witnessing the bond between the kids strengthening."Hopefully, science will find a solution," says Pelletier. "We cross our fingers for that. We want to make sure our kids are equipped to face these challenges."

Lemay and Pelletier say the trip has strengthened the bond between their four children, seen here in Mongolia.

Last full day in ...

I've been hoping for rain and WW and I sat out in the patio and watched potential rain clouds move by. But no rain. 15% chance, so my odds aren't good?