A youngster and his father had a once-in-a-lifetime expertise because of a considerate gesture from a CEO.
Joseph Tegerdine, 18, of Springville, Utah, is at the moment in his fifth 12 months of battling bone most cancers.
Tegerdine was identified with osteosarcoma bone most cancers in Might 2019 after affected by knee ache ever since he was 13.
In Jan. 2022, most cancers was additionally present in his lungs and his hip. He had surgical procedure and chemotherapy to deal with it.
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Two years later, in Feb. 2024, the most cancers was discovered once more in his lungs, one thing his mom informed Fox Information Digital pushed the household to start checking issues off his bucket checklist, as Fox Information Digital beforehand reported.
“We’re specializing in making recollections and doing bucket checklist objects for him,” Kerry Tegerdine mentioned.
A type of bucket checklist objects included proudly owning a Ford Mustang — one thing Joseph Tegerdine’s father, Joe Tegerdine, made occur lately.
Kerry Tegerdine informed Fox Information Digital that her husband knew her son wouldn’t have sufficient time to save lots of sufficient cash to purchase it himself — so her husband went out and purchased him one.
But the excellent news for Joseph Tegerdine didn’t cease there.
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Because the elder Joe Tegerdine posted on X, “For these questioning why I’d purchase my 18yr outdated son a 330hp Mustang, nicely, he’s been given months to reside and may’t work lengthy sufficient to purchase one himself. His touch upon the way in which dwelling: ‘Dad, I’m going to squeeze a couple of further months of life simply to have the ability to drive this,’ #cancersucks.”
The submit on X gained consideration from many — together with Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford Motors.
In a tweeted response, Farley shared his condolences for what the Tegerdines had been going by way of — then provided each Joe Tegerdine and son Joseph Tegerdine the prospect to drive a Ford Mustang Darkish Horse on the observe on the Ford Efficiency Racing Faculty in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This previous week, the Tegerdines did simply that.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, April 16, Joe Tegerdine informed Fox Information Digital that the expertise was onerous for him to place into phrases.
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“It’s onerous to explain, [but] there’s this sense of finality … That is in all probability our final time doing one thing like this,” he mentioned.
The pair traveled from Utah to North Carolina for the event, one thing Joe Tegerdine mentioned nearly didn’t occur as a result of his son’s elevated hip ache after radiation over the previous few weeks.
“He [Joseph] was like, ‘Dad, I don’t care if it’s important to roll me in on a gurney, I’m going to this driving college’,” he recalled.
He added, “He [Joseph] had probably the most power I’ve seen in months, only a tremendous massive smile and tremendous excited.”
“You simply understand that you simply’re having fun with these treasured little moments of smiles and pleasure and never realizing what number of extra there are going to be earlier than he passes.”
The pair had been taught find out how to correctly drive the specialty car and extra earlier than getting their likelihood behind the steering wheel.
“I imply, every thing was simply such an awesome adrenaline rush and an awesome expertise,” he mentioned.
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Ford Motors even shocked the 2 with customized helmets for his or her driving college expertise that matched the sample of their sports activities automobile.
Ford Motor Firm president and chief government officer Jim Farley informed Fox Information Digital by way of e mail that the corporate was “merely joyful [that] we may present this expertise to Joe and Joseph.”
Joe Tegerdine shared that his son completed radiation on Monday, April 15, in an effort to cease the most important tumor on his lungs from rising additional.
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Nevertheless, Joseph Tegerdine had an growing quantity of ache in his hip the place one other giant tumor lies.
“He’s exhausted,” Joe Tegerdine mentioned. “There are not any remedies left for osteosarcoma — we’ve just about exhausted every thing.”
He added that the racing college expertise was onerous to explain as a result of its “feeling of finality.”
“You simply understand that you simply’re having fun with these treasured little moments of smiles and pleasure and never realizing what number of extra there are going to be earlier than he passes,” he mentioned.
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Joseph Tegerdine continues to be doing typical 18-year-old issues like going to promenade this month.
Dad Joe Tegerdine informed Fox Information Digital that his son and his girlfriend will take promenade photographs in entrance of the Ford Mustang.
“It’s a treasured time,” his father mentioned.
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