A brave teen who chronicled his battle with terminal cancer on social media bid his thousands of supporters farewell on Tuesday.
“It’s a final thumbs up from me!” Stephen Sutton wrote. “I’ve done well to blog things as well as I have up till now, but unfortunately I think this is just one hurdle too far.”
The 19-year-old from Staffordshire, England, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer when he was just 15.
When he found out his cancer was incurable two years later, Sutton decided to dedicate the time he had left helping others and making the world a better place.
He set out to raise 10,000 pounds ($16,820) for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity that supports young cancer patients. He and his followers smashed that goal, raising more than 660,900 pounds (more than $1.1 million) toward his new goal of generating 1 million pounds as of Tuesday evening.
Then, on Wednesday, the fund surpassed 1 million pounds and had reached 1.3 million pounds (almost $2.19 million) as of early afternoon.
British comedian Jason Manford helped by launching his own campaign to encourage people to donate to Sutton’s fund.
“We bloody did it!!!!!!! GBP1 million and @_Stephensstory is still with us! Well done son, you little beauty! I wish I’d known you, top lad!” Manford tweeted Wednesday.
Sutton’s unwavering positivity and upbeat attitude have also inspired people around the world. Tens of thousands of followers have rallied around the teen on his Facebook page, Stephen’s Story, and others have been connecting with him through Twitter.
“It’s a shame the end has come so suddenly — there’s so many people I haven’t got round to properly thank or say goodbye too. Apologies for that,” Sutton wrote in his Facebook post.
“I will continue fighting for as long as I can, and whatever happens next I want you all to know I am currently in a good place mentally and at ease with the situation,” he added.
Sutton has sent out a few tweets since posting his poignant farewell.
“Perked up quite a bit since earlier. Still here, still fighting, still very weak, but still smiling :),” he wrote a few hours later.
“Truly humbled by all the support, I am following it as best as I can an it is all hugely appreciated,” Sutton wrote “Tonight’s show of love and support epitomises how great people can be. The world is a truly wonderful place. Hanging in here as best I can :).”
On Wednesday, the teen said he knew his fundraising goal had been met and tweeted his gratitude.
“The whole situation is just breathtaking in many ways!!” he wrote. “But seriously… Wow. Just wow. Thank you all so much :)”
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