A trip before he goes blind

Louis Corbett, 12, has retinitis pigmentosa -- a progressive disorder that eventually deteriorates vision.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- As will also happen to two of his older brothers, 12-year-old Louis Corbett will one day be blind.

The three young New Zealanders have retinitis pigmentosa -- a progressive disorder that eventually deteriorates vision over the course of decades.

But for the youngest of the five Corbett children, that day will come much sooner.

"Last year was a hard one for poor Louie," mother Catherine Corbett told CNN over the phone from their home in Auckland. "That's when he learned that his case was accelerated."

Though it may seem like a coincidence of extraordinary odds that three young brothers would be stricken with retinitis pigmentosa, it really isn't. Though rare, the disease is hereditary.

Faced with the grim reality that Louie will soon lose the ability to see the world around him, the Corbetts decided to embark on an international sightseeing tour. "This year we're going to try and fill his world with as many beautiful images as we can," his mother told CNN.

Instructed to make something of an ocular bucket list -- things and places he'd like to see for the first, only and likely last time -- Louie picked places like the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Empire State Building and, in a sign of the times, Google headquarters in California.

But the thing Louie wanted to see the most with his own eyes wasn't a landmark or a national park; Louie wanted to take in a game, because like many young boys his age, Louie is a sports fan. But unlike most of his Kiwi peers who would favor nationally popular sports such as rugby and cricket, Louie's sport of choice is a bit out of the ordinary.

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A trip before he goes blind