And moments they would experience together as a family.
Even if vision changed in the future, those experiences would remain part of their childhood.
Then the World Shut Down
The family's plan was not immediately possible.
They had originally hoped to begin their travels earlier, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international travel around the world.
The journey had to wait.
Eventually, when international travel became possible again, the family began preparing to leave.
This was not a conventional vacation.
They were not packing for a week at a resort.
They were preparing four children for an extended journey across multiple countries while simultaneously handling education, transportation, accommodation, food, finances and the countless logistical problems that come with long-term travel.
Sébastien took responsibility for much of the budgeting and logistical planning.
Edith handled areas including luggage, schooling, meals and social media.
Together, they turned an emotional idea into a practical plan.
Then they left home.
Seeing the World While They Could
The Pelletiers' journey took them through dramatically different environments.
They encountered deserts and mountains.
They saw wildlife.
They experienced unfamiliar communities and cultures.
Instead of trying to recreate the comfort of home everywhere they went, the family embraced uncertainty as part of the experience.
That mattered because the trip gradually became about far more than eyesight.
The parents wanted their children to develop independence.
They wanted them to become adaptable.
They wanted them to learn that something unexpected could happen without ruining everything.
Those skills would be valuable for any child.
For children who might eventually have to navigate the world with significant visual impairment, Edith and Sébastien believed they could become particularly meaningful.
Travel naturally provided opportunities to practice them.
Plans failed.
Transportation changed.
People became tired.
Someone had to carry a bag.
Someone became frustrated.
A destination might not look the way they expected.
Weather could destroy the day's plans.
The family had to solve problems together.
In that sense, the trip was not simply about showing the children beautiful things before their eyesight deteriorated.
It was also about helping them become people capable of confronting change.
Four Children, Not Three Diagnoses
One of the most important aspects of the family's story is easy to overlook.
The children were not merely patients.
They were children.
Mia, Colin and Laurent shared the same broad diagnosis, but that did not mean they had identical personalities, fears or dreams.
Léo, meanwhile, did not have retinitis pigmentosa but remained an integral part of the journey.
The family traveled together.
That distinction is important because a diagnosis as significant as RP could easily begin dominating every conversation.
Parents might understandably start looking at every childhood milestone through the lens of future vision loss.
But the Pelletiers tried to avoid allowing the disease to become the children's entire identity.
The trip gave them another story.
They were not simply three children losing their sight and a fourth sibling watching it happen.
They were four children exploring the planet.
They were siblings arguing, laughing, learning and getting bored together.
They were travelers.
They were adventurers.
They were a family.
What Retinitis Pigmentosa Actually Does
The medical reality behind the journey makes the family's decision easier to understand.
According to the National Eye Institute, RP usually begins with the gradual deterioration of rod photoreceptors.
Rods are especially important for seeing in low-light conditions and for peripheral vision.
This helps explain why difficulty seeing at night is often among the first noticeable symptoms.