My brother and I make fun of how everything is described as a “journey.” He calls and wants to know how my “cancer journey” is going.

Today my cancer journey has taken an unexpected turn. The drug they keep trying to get me to take for nausea has caused me to have such blurry vision, I can’t see. (Also a sore throat and congestion, which I could live with because it really did help with the nausea, but blurry vision is a no-go. It’s taken me close to a half-hour to write this short post.)

But that’s nothing compared to this. For those of you who are stealth pray-ers or “sending good vibes” people, I have someone who can use it. A 15-year-old girl whose family recently moved here to be close to her epilepsy medical team has just had her world turned on its head with a diagnosis of Batten disease, a particularly cruel and so far, inevitably fatal illness. She will suffer increasing mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills.

Researchers are racing to find any therapeutics that can stop the progression. As it stands now, children with Batten disease become blind, bedridden and demented.

So if you pray, pray for Audrey and for the scientists who are working on a cure. Pray for her support and comfort for her family, and every single family that’s dealing with this. Meet Christiane.