Dying British Teenager Stephen Sutton Posts Last Facebook Update, Inspires Millions

British teenager Stephen Sutton has posted a poignant photo on his Facebook page – from his hospital bed. In the image, Stephen is seen smiling and showing a thumbs up sign. In the accompanying text, he writes that it will probably be the last message to be typed by himself. The way in which Stephen is embracing death with a smile on his face has inspired many, and also broken the hearts of countless others.

Stephen Sutton is a 19-year-old teenager who has terminal cancer. The teen has been battling the disease since the age of 15. However, it was only in 2013 (January 13 to be precise) that Stephen came to know that his disease was incurable and that the cancer was terminal. With reality dawning upon him, Stephen decided to forget his long term goal of becoming a doctor and charted a new story. He created a bucket list of 46 things he wanted to do before the cancer overcomes him. He also made a Facebook page called “Stephen’s story” and started off by updating it with casual updates about his progress. Stephen’s story gradually gathered fame and was widely reported by the media in the UK.

As of today, Stephen’s page boasts of 213,000 likes and he has 110,000 followers on Twitter. His fame helped him fulfill many of the things in the bucket list he created. One of the 46 things in the list that Sutton made was to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Little over a year since he started it, he has already managed to raise over £ 1 million – and he is not done yet. Thanks to the support shown by some celebrities – including comedian Jason Manford — they are now gunning for £ 2 million, reports The Mirror.

Unfortunately, Stephen might not be lucky enough to see his charity reach greater heights. Stephen’s health has deteriorated in the past week, and his last post on April 22 sounded like a goodbye message to all.

He wrote:

“It’s a final thumbs up from me! 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’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 to.”

He goes on..

“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. That’s it from me. But life has been good. Very good. “

Stephen also spared a few lines for his family members, friends, and his medical team:

“Thank you to my mum and the rest of my family for everything. Thank you to my friends for being amazing. Thank you to my medical team for the hard work and effort they’ve continually they’ve put towards me. And thank you everyone else for sharing this wonderful journey with me.”

This young man who has inspired thousands of people across the world with his passion for life tells people that his is not a “Sob Story.”

This is Stephen’s story.

Let us all hope Stephen gets the strength to fight his battle with cancer until the end.

[Images via Facebook]