A Mother's Dream to Rise Above
— Cristina Vargas

Grief has seasons, but they do not arrive politely. Sometimes the weather, a familiar smell, or a calendar date cracks me open. Late this summer, it found me in aisles filled with backpacks, notebooks, and first-day outfits. For everyone else, back-to-school season meant a fresh beginning, but for me, it…

Grief has taught me that loneliness isn’t always about being physically alone. I can be surrounded by my husband, my daughters, other family members, friends, and others who love me deeply, yet still feel an emptiness that no crowded room can touch. Since my son, Juju, gained his wings, I…

People often tell me how strong I am. They see the advocacy, the interviews, the meetings, and the columns I continue writing after my son Juju gained his wings in May. They see me speaking about his CLN2 disease, also known as late infantile Batten disease, with determination and…

Every Batten disease parent learns that time is the most valuable thing we have. We stop measuring life by birthdays and holidays and begin measuring it by the memories we can still make before the disease changes everything again. Every smile, laugh, and hug becomes priceless. No amount of…

Every once in a while, my fingers betray my heart. Without even thinking, I’ll unlock my phone and instinctively open the bus tracker app, waiting to see my son Juju’s school bus make its way toward our house. It had become such a normal part of my morning routine that…

Dear Juju, A few days ago, I opened the column I hadn’t finished writing. It was sitting on my computer exactly where I’d left it. I’d been writing about your tremors getting worse and your upcoming infusion. I wrote about how Dad and I were doing everything we could to…

There is something about May that feels like a quiet exhale. After months of gray skies, heavy coats, and long nights, the sun begins to linger a little longer. The air softens. The world slowly wakes back up. For a moment, everything feels a little lighter. As a rare…

There is a moment that happens after every appointment, infusion, or procedure that people don’t see. From the outside, it may seem like the hardest part is over. The appointment may have gone well, or the treatment may be done. There may be a sense of relief, even if it’s…

When we talk about Batten disease, we often focus on what can be seen: the seizures, the regression, the loss of speech and vision. While these things should be acknowledged, the emotional weight shouldered by caregivers, which often goes unseen, also deserves to be discussed. Caregivers manage…

When I think about March, I think about transition. It’s not fully winter anymore, yet it’s not quite spring, either. The air shifts, yet the cold lingers. The sun shines a little longer, but the ground remains hard. March teaches us something powerful: that growth can begin before anyone sees…

February is often associated with love: hearts in store windows, sweet messages exchanged between couples, and a reminder to cherish the people closest to us. For rare disease families like ours, February carries another meaning: Feb. 28 is Rare Disease Day. The entire month becomes a time when the…