What do you want to see before losing your sight?

Hello. Please allow us to tell you about our buddy Parker.

Parker is a 13 year-old in Boise, Idaho. He's an athlete and an artist. He loves people and their stories. In particular he loves the story of America, our founding and colonial history. If you were to draw a picture in your mind of an all-American kid, this is your guy.

Three days before Christmas Parker woke with blind spots in his central vision. This vision loss came out of nowhere and it was deteriorating rapidly. In the three weeks following Christmas, Parker's unknown affliction moved from wildly mysterious to... well, still mysterious. What we know today is that Parker has a permanent loss of central vision and his peripheral vision is actively deteriorating. The speed of deterioration over the course of a month is shocking and has completely altered everything for Parker and his entire family.

Parker is currently working with a specialist from the John Moran Eye Institute at the University of Utah. And while the family takes some comfort in the quality of care they are receiving, they are constantly confronting the possibility that Parker may lose his vision suddenly and completely. There is hope that Parker may retain the sight that he has left. At the moment the unknowns are many and the timeframe is frighteningly unknowable. Can the proper treatment arrest the loss of Parker's sight? How long will Parker have his sight? How will he learn braille and adjust to schooling from home? Could he wake up tomorrow completely blind?

We first heard about Parker's ordeal from our son. It was when Parker's father took to social media and asked this heartbreaking question that we felt compelled to pitch in. If you knew you were losing your sight, what would you want to see before it was gone?

Each of us might provide a diversity of answers. At the heart of it is a family pondering a massive change and trying to provide an experience for their son and brother beyond the specialists and the medical centers and magnified e-readers that suddenly dominate their days.

This is how Parker answered the question. If he's going to lose his sight Parker would like to go to Washington, DC and New York City. Parker would like to see the Statue of Liberty, the 9-11 Memorial, the US Capitol and the other postcard places that reflect our nation's story. He can recite the American Presidents - in order - so of course, the kid wants to see the sights and sounds of those cities and their monuments to our history. That's what we are asking you to help make happen.

Parker and his family are sweet and deeply humble people. They didn't ask for this. They are so sweet and appreciative of this gesture... but they are also the first to tell you they have it better than a lot of people. And it clearly gnaws at them that they aren't the ones serving their neighbors in this case. They're getting care and navigating this challenge with spirit and aplomb. So we're asking, for the family and for Parker, if we can come together and provide what might well be the most vivid sights and sounds possible to make this wish come true.

All funds raised will go directly to Parker's family. Funds will provide airfare, accommodation, and other expenses for Parker, his parents, and his two brothers, to take a one week trip from Boise to see Washington, DC and New York City.

Thank you in advance for your interest and your generosity.

Please contact the organizer with questions or any ideas about how we can make Parker's trip as sensational as possible.