By 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.
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