Nine-year-old boy gets to see the northern lights before going blind

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 8:57 PM - Nine-year-old Ben Pierce of Dallas, Texas was recently able to travel to Alaska to fulfill his dream of seeing the northern lights before losing his vision.

Ben suffers from retionpathy of prematurity, a condition that resulted from being born four months premature.

As he continues to grow his vision will worsen, and he will eventually lose it completely.

Ben's mom Heidi Thaden told the CBC that she and her son have come to terms with the diagnoses.

Ben has put together a list of all the things he'd like to see and when an Alaska Airlines pilot heard about his dream, the company stepped in to help.

Ben says the northern lights were "beautiful," and looked like "watercolours painting the sky."

He told the CBC that the experience will stay with him and make him happy when he's no longer able to see. 

Photo courtesy of Ronn Murray Photography

Photo courtesy: Ronn Murray Photography (http://www.ronnmurrayphoto.com)