Ben Pierce is nine years old.
He loves playing with his brothers and sisters and drawing.
He likes reading books and playing video games.
He likes cupcakes and ice cream.
But Ben Pierce won’t be able to read his beloved books in quite the same way soon and he won’t be playing any video games.
Because Ben Pierce is going blind.
The thought of losing his sight makes the young boy cry. It breaks his mother’s heart. But this one little boy’s journey into blindness is showing those around him how beautiful the world really is.
Ben, from Texas in the US, was born at 23 weeks gestation, more than four months early.
He was so underdeveloped that his eyelids were still fused shut.
His doctors did not expect him to survive.
But he did.
However, the older he gets the less sight he has, so Ben is slowly going blind. His parents don’t know how much longer he will retain the limited vision he has now.
His father, Kit Pierce told WFAA Dallas, “Every time he grows, as his eyes are growing, the scar tissue is not stretching.”
“So he’s losing a little more eyesight each time he has a growth spurt,” the father said.
His world is getting dimmer by the day.
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Such an impressive list. I checked how I fared against the items from Ben’s bucket list mentioned in this post.
Van Gogh’s The Starry Night: I haven’t seen this particular painting, but have seen many Van Gogh Originals at the museum in Amsterdam such as his Sunflowers series, as well as Anne Frank’s annexe and the fantastic Dutch Resistance Museum. Also... the Musee D’Orsay (Paris) which is full of stunning impressionist masterpieces - the museum is contained within a former railway station built around 1900... Six hours in the Prado (Madrid) seeing every masterpiece on the list of at least 60 items... the Galleria dell'Accademia and Uffizi (Florence) oggling the original David and Botticelli's 1486 The Birth of Venus... The Metropolitan Museum, aka The Met, (NY).
Statue of Liberty: yes, from the Staten Island Ferry
The Grand Canyon: no
An observatory: probably; I may have had an excursion to one as a kid, but the best-ever night sky I saw was last month from Waiheke Island just outside Auckland. Literally breathtaking. I have never seen so many stars, and since then seeing an observatory has been on my own bucket list – the best are apparently in Chile. I hope Ben gets there!
A chocolate (or candy) factory: yes, my grade six class had an excursion to Melburne’s Cadbury factory; a classmate’s father worked there. Lucky us!
A cooking show: yes, the last several years, I’ve been to live cooking classes in Melbourne and at Lake Como. I also have to admit that I really became a better cook in my early 20s watching (and note-taking) a lot of Jamie Oliver, Ainsley Harriott and Nigella Lawson on TV.
A glacier: no
Mount Rushmore: no
The Sistine Chapel: no. I have been inside St Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum and seen the Trevi Fountain though. I kick myself for having missed Capri and Pompeii when I stayed near them both years ago. What was I doing with my days?!
Northern Lights: no. Has been on my bucket list for ages!
The mountains: the best mountain view I’ve seen was from Mt Rigi in Switzerland near Lucerne.
A moose: no. I've been fortunate enough to have swam with dolphins and seen fur seal colonies in the wild – just amazing.
Sand dunes: only the ones in Aus! I saw really gorgeous ones near Abu Dhabi on a Top Gear ad recently.
Skiing: yes, once twenty years ago at Mount Bulla (Vic). I also water-skied a couple of times as a kid (at Bonnie Doon no less, haha... very serene). I hope Ben gets to try both, and maybe snowboarding too. I saw a fantastic chase scene in Jack Frost (Michael Keaton film) recently. I hope Ben watches this – so impressive!
Snorkelling: yes, my first time was in Amedee Lighthouse Island in New Caledonia 20 years ago. I’ve loved it ever since, and now have my own snorkelling gear. I go locally in summer as I live by the beach, as well as pack it when I take summer holidays, such as the Greek Islands. It’s one of my most relaxing hobbies; I feel so ‘away from it all’ when I'm snorkelling. Never been scuba diving though.
Apple store: yes, I see this at Westfield all the time, never once stepped inside it!
A Kiwi bird: yes, I saw plenty of non-live kiwis in museums in NZ recently, and then finally saw a wild one on Waiheke Island when I was driving back to my accommodation at night. Such a thrill to see it on the roadside! My German travelling companion thought it was a hedgehog – she couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Watch how ice cream is made: yes, but only on TV. I’d love to own a decent ice-cream maker.
A chocolate Kinder egg: I’ve seen these, but never cracked one open.
Reading the list above, I feel so fortunate to have seen all I have, and to see all of what is yet to come. Yes, I have spent a bit on travel/ seeing the world, worth every single dollar spent; no regrets. One thing I'd recommend others to try and see, at least once, is a Greek Island sunset.
We've gotta focus on appreciating what we do have and do experience, and stop grumbling over minor irritations :D The best way to express what I mean is to quote Lester (Kevin Spacey’s character) from the end of American Beauty, so eloquently put:
“I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees that lined our street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.”
Crying into my coffee. What a beautiful young boy he is.