By Judy Stecker
Feb. 28, 2023

My toddler, Wheeler, will probably not live to adulthood. Juvenile Batten disease — he has the type known as CLN3 — is stealing his childhood. And then this rare disease will steal my child.

Wheeler is missing the DNA needed to recycle a waste product called lipofuscin that his cells naturally produce. As lipofuscin builds up, his condition will get worse, robbing him of his eyesight, his speech, his mobility, and ultimately his life.

Our only hope is finding a treatment to cure, or at least a way to slow down this unrelenting disease. At age 3, Wheeler already has sleep and behavior problems, as well as delays in his speech and fine motor development. He recently began moving closer to the TV and rubbing his eyes, signals that in a matter of months or weeks he may soon live the rest of his life blind.

USNA Class of 1986 Fundraiser for Tyler’s Mission

The weekend of 7-10 October marked the 35th Reunion for the Naval Academy Class of 1986. The first event of the weekend was a golf outing at Compass Pointe Golf Course in Pasadena, MD. Seventy-seven classmates gathered to play golf and swap seas stories. But more importantly, the occasion was an opportunity to give back to a classmate in need. Through the selling of various on course items (mulligans, 2′ of string, opportunity to tee off from the fairway on one hole), and a raffle event after the tournament featuring items donated by classmates and local businesses, the Class raised $4862 for Tyler’s Mission in support of the son on classmate Jim Kim. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. The Class could not be more inspired by the way Tyler lives his life and was honored to make this donation to his fund. Go Tyler! Beat Batten!

Thank You Batten 4 Drew!

A big thank you to Drew, Cara, Mike, and all of the Batten 4 Drew supporters who made a $10,000 donation to Beyond Batten Disease Foundation possible!

For the past 12 years we have been blessed with phenomenal weather, enthusiastic golfers, and energetic volunteers. Yesterday was no exception, we gathered once again in celebration of HOPE, with our collective mission in mind… #SaveWill . Thank you to everyone who joined us at our 2021 HOPE on the Green. We look forward to sharing our recap photos online this week!

Thank you to our Photography sponsor:

Hughes & Cozad Orthodontics

Bianca Vidal recently wrote to us and was kind enough to let us share her story. Let’s give her and her son a warm welcome.

“My son Manuel is a 17-year-old young man who was recently diagnosed with this terrible disease. Even though at 10 years old he started losing his vision, I never imagine it could be something else. Last year his health started to decline dramatically – it was then that a Doctor found the disease in him. He is declining faster than I thought. He can barely walk and talk now, and he does not recognize who I am most of the time. It is heartbreaking to see him like this. Even though he has good and bad days, his positive attitude is always there. And he always has a big smile for everybody and loves to show off his ‘muscles’.”