“People say when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. But what do you do when life gives you Cancer?”-Stephen Sutton.
Stephen didn’t have a definitive answer for this but often said he wasn’t going to let his be a “cancer sob story.” After he was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 15, Stephen wanted to use his remaining time to complete a bucket list he had created. On this list were many things such as sky diving and playing the drums in front of 90,000 people for the Uefa Champions League.
Number 1 on this bucket list was to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity which helps teenagers through their diagnosis, treatment and life with cancer. The charity does amazing work for young people up and down the country and Stephen was determined to give something back for all the hard work they did. Stephen set up a Facebook and JustGiving page called ‘Stephen’s Story’ where he would update people on his condition and his fundraising efforts.
Through this JustGiving account people could donate and help him reach his total of £10,000 for the trust. Through the generosity of strangers and Stephens constant work he smashed this total and decided to set a new total of £1 million. This was a massive goal but the Stephen dedicated his remaining time to reaching this amazing target. Soon people around the world heard of Stephens’s story and donated anything they could to aid the teens fundraising efforts to reach his total.
Celebrities such as Jason Manford, Frank Lampard and the Prime Minister David Cameron all pledged the support for Stephen’s Story and his fundraising efforts. Soon the JustGiving page reached its total of £1 million but the giving did not stop there as people continued to fund raise and soon the total hit £2 million!
Stephen Sutton was able to see this massive achievement before he sadly lost his battle to cancer on the 14th May 2014 at the age of 19. So many people have been touched by Stephen’s story and still continue to donate in his memory. Due to Stephen’s love and determination the total for his JustGiving account has reached £3.7 million and is expected to reach £4 million very soon.
Stephen’s mom, Jane Sutton, took to Facebook to announce her sons passing, saying “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, Wednesday 14th May. 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. Love, His mom x”
Everyone here at her campus CCCU send their love and prayers to the Sutton family as we keep Stephen in our thoughts. If you wish to donate to Stephen’s JustGiving page you can find the link below along with links to the ‘Stephen’s Story’ Facebook page and twitter.
Stephen Sutton
16/12/1994 – 14/04/2014
Rest In Peace
DONATE: www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Sutton-TCT
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/StephensStory
TWITTER: twitter.com/_StephensStory
OFFICIAL SITE: www.stephensstory.co.uk