14 DAY TRIAL // The mother of Stephen Sutton, the teenager who raised more than £3 million (approx. $5/€3.6 million) for a cancer charity and inspired an entire nation to give, has announced that her son passed away in his sleep on Wednesday morning.
The terminally ill teenager died in hospital at the age of 19, four years after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. His mother Jane Sutton announced his death via an emotional Facebook post.
“My heart is bursting with pride but breaking with pain for my courageous, selfless, inspirational son who passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning,” she wrote.
“The ongoing support and outpouring of love for Stephen will help greatly at this difficult time, in the same way as it helped Stephen throughout his journey. We all know he will never be forgotten, his spirit will live on, in all that he achieved and shared with so many.”
Two years ago, when he was told his cancer was incurable as the tumors had spread to his knee, lungs and liver, the British youngster from Burntwood, Staffordshire, didn't give up and decided to create a bucket list of things he wanted to do before dying. Since January, he managed to fulfill 35 of the 46 wishes.
One of the entries on his list was to raise £1 million ($1.68/€1.21 million) for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which he managed to achieve last month after a final farewell message he posted on social media went viral.
“It’s a final thumbs up from me!” he wrote in his touching Facebook message, which was accompanied by a picture showing him in a hospital bed with a large smile on his face. “I’ve done well to blag things as well as I have up till now, but unfortunately I think this is just one hurdle too far.”
It was this emotional note what prompted people from around the world to donate to his cause. More than 135,000 individual donations have been made since he posted his final “goodbye,” totaling more than £3million ($5/€3.6 million). And donations continued to pour in after his death was announced.
Numerous celebrities and politicians, including British actor Stephen Fry, musician Simon Cowell and Prime Minister David Cameron, gave their support.
“I'm deeply saddened to hear that Stephen Sutton has died. His spirit, bravery and fundraising for cancer research were all an inspiration,” Cameron wrote on Twitter after Stephen's passing.
The Independent says that the teenager's condition deteriorated last week and he was readmitted to hospital on Sunday after developing breathing difficulties caused by the re-growth of tumors that were blocking his airway.