When the light began to dim around sixth grader Isaac Garcia, he thought he wasn’t smart; the world was passing him by. Later he found that wasn’t the case, and it wasn’t his fault it seemed that way. There was a very real reason the light was fading, and the clock was ticking on what remained of his vision.

Isaac was diagnosed with a pediatric form of macular degeneration known as Stargardt almost two years ago. This genetic disease impacts one in 10,000 children, but most do not develop symptoms until their 20s. Isaac’s case is unusual due to his young age, and he will be blind and dependent upon Braille in one to four years.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for his vision to fade, Isaac chose to put together a bucket list of things to see before he can’t. Over the school year, Isaac has been one busy traveler seeing things from the Delicate Arch to the Statue of Liberty and Mt. Rushmore to Gettysburg. The final items on his list were a Roman colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. He was able to visit them on a recent two-week vacation to Italy.

“He is a little overloaded, but he’s learned a lot. I never in a million years thought we’d finish up the list. A lot of people helped us out. On the way home, I asked if we should make a new list. He says he needs a break, but maybe somewhere with a beach or a pool. We can do that,” Isaac’s mom Kelly Lucas said.