Josh Bangert was playing basketball this summer when he noticed the vision in his left eye was blurry.
The 15-year-old thought he just needed glasses. But when he went to the doctor a few weeks later, he was told he had a progressive disease that meant he would likely be completely blind within a year.
Josh has a big family--eight kids--and a strong faith. He says as he sat in church the next morning, he began to accept his fate. One of his mother’s friends suggested Josh make a bucket list of things he wanted to see and set up a GoFundMe to pay for the trips. Within two weeks, they had raised almost $36,000.
With help from the donations, the Bangert family took Josh to a Cardinals game in St. Louis, where he met his favorite player, catcher Yadier Molina. They spoke for about five seconds. “I’m just so famous,” Josh joked.
Other things on his list: mountains, the ocean, the desert, Niagara Falls, snorkeling, white-water rafting.
Last week, he and the family flew to California and saw mountains and the ocean.