Mia, 12, is now on a year-long trip with her parents and three younger brothers. Far from their home in Quebec, Canada, the family rode horses in Mongolia, kayaked in Cambodia, camped in Namibia and flew in a hot air balloon in Turkey, looking to collect as many once-in-a-lifetime memories as they could.
The memories really matter because unless science makes a breakthrough soon, three of the children will become blind, likely in adulthood. They have been diagnosed with a disease that has no effective treatment and no specific timeline as it gradually robs them of their sight.
The diagnoses came in 2015. Despite the grief, the parents were surprised to find Mia, then 7, was calm about it. She announced that she would need to start keeping her bedroom especially neat, with everything in its place. "In the future, I'll need to know where things are," Mia said.
"She's finding solutions on her own," the parents told each other. "We need to follow her lead." And so the idea of a yearlong trip was born, one that would show the kids the world, in person and at close range – while the kids could still see it. For the next two years, the parents saved money and researched places to visit. "How we adults see the world and how kids see the world are so different." says the mother, Edith. "It would have to be less about temples and museums and more about whatever caught their eyes."
By the time the trip began to wind down in early 2023, the family had traveled 52,000 miles and visited 18 countries. Mia grew taller and when entering adolescence, needed more independence. Her brothers became more confident and outgoing. The kids were very aware that they had learned a lot. "There's a lot of suffering, a lot of poverty, but lots of good and interesting things too. We should be positive." said Mia.
