A heartbroken father has paid tribute to his “inspirational” son, who died aged just 18 after a five-year battle with bone cancer, which the family mistook for growing pains.
Joseph Tegerdine of Utah began complaining of knee pain in 2019, when he was 13 years old.
The sensation came mainly after playing football and during a “sudden growth spurt” that led his father, Joe Sr, to tell his son that bone pain was natural for his stage of life.
However, when the pain did not subside, the family sought help at the local hospital, where Joseph underwent an X-ray and MRI.
The results showed he had osteosarcoma, a type of cancer that develops in bones, cartilage, tendons, fat and muscle, and he started chemotherapy just 10 days later.
Joseph was given a 70 percent survival rate after undergoing knee surgery and chemotherapy. He continued to live a normal life as a teenager for the next two and a half years.
But in January 2022, the family received another devastating blow: Joseph was told the cancer had spread to his hip and lungs.
He underwent another treatment, this time surgery and chemotherapy.
However, after a brief period of stability, cancer was found in his lungs again in 2024, reducing his survival rate to 10 percent and leaving him with only a few months to live.
The teenager died early Friday morning, as revealed by his father on social media.
In a loving message, Mr Tegerdine wrote on his last breath at 03:14.
Words cannot express the depth of pain at having moved on, nor the tremendous joy at the fact that he no longer suffers.’
She added: “I look forward to the day when he and I can run, jump and play together again.”
‘I appreciate all the love and support we received from the X community. Your generosity made their life a little easier and more fun. Your love and concern made a big difference.”
It was this tragic news of Joseph’s terminal diagnosis that prompted his father to splash out on a 2020 Ford Mustange supercar in March of this year.
The businessman, who sells home composting devices, defended the purchase in X.
“For those wondering why I would buy my 18-year-old son a 330 HP Mustang, well, he’s been given months to live and can’t work long enough to buy one,” Tegerdine said.
“His comment on the way home: ‘Dad, I’m going to squeeze a few more months out of my life just so I can drive this.’
The story behind the Mustang went viral: Tegerdine’s tweet received more than 13 million views.
The track day came after Joe Sr. tweeted about buying his son the supercar, which went viral and racked up more than 13 million views.
Joseph Tegerdine, 18, enjoyed a day at Ford Charlotte Motor Speedway this month after his father bought him a Mustang due to his cancer diagnosis.
Ford CEO Jim Farley also saw his father’s viral tweet and invited Joseph and his father to enjoy shopping at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
‘Jose was very excited. “I haven’t seen him with so much energy for months,” said Mr. Tegerdine.
“In the end, we got to ride with a professional driver and it was like, I mean, G-forces after G-forces. You could feel yourself in the air in the seat.
“You come into a corner and you feel all the pressure in the corner and as soon as they hit the gas out of the corner you’re stuck in the seat.”
In a statement to the Detroit Free Press, Farley said it was an “honor” for Ford to welcome the father and son to its track. “I’m glad I was able to help Joe and Joseph enjoy a very special day,” she said.
Before their day at the track, the family also ventured out on a “bucket list” vacation: Osaka, Japan.
The teenager previously said he lived “day by day,” which helped him get through his final months.
He told DailyMail.com in April: ‘I’m in Japan right now. I have the car of my dreams, I’m surrounded by a lot of people I adore and I go to driving school.
“Then you look at the future and everything starts to fall apart. I don’t really need to look into the future. Morbidly, I don’t really have one. I can’t be something like “in a year.” “If I get a year, I’ll be very lucky.”